Ask HN: Do people at Google use Google things | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Do people at Google use Google things

65 pointsl2silver43 comments

I use a Google home almost exclusively to add things to my shopping list. It seemed Google was aware of this, as over the last few months they made little improvements, like images for the items and automatic sorting. Well today Google updated its list app, and removed almost all of its features, including the ability to even manually sort. Thanks Google.

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Another xoogler here. iPhones are quite popular among Googlers, but probably not out of proportion to their demographic. Personally I stopped using almost every Google product after I got to see what android collects. I won a Google home max in an internal contest and immediately gave it away. I have an Alexa. It's true that Google product decisions often have a vocal opposition inside the company, but product managers are adept at ignoring criticism.

Well that's comforting

Doesn't Alexa collect the same amount of information as Google Home or other "smart products"? I'm not pro-Google or Amazon (quite the opposite actually), I just don't use any "smart" products (expect for smartphones which I can't avoid) due to the amount of tracking on all of them.

You heard it right there folks. Another reason to de-google.

I don’t know if I will take the advice of someone’s degoogling consists of getting an Alexa device…

I can degoogle except for gmail and maps.

Apple Maps in my country sucks. There are no good alternatives to Google Maps.

Gmail - I have too much stuff there to move away.

OpenStreetMap?

Could you create a new mail account and gradually stop using the old one, and keep it only as an archive of old messages?

Online directions and traffic congestion indication was not available.

Take a look at MagicEarth, which provides both, based on OpenStreetMap data: https://www.magicearth.com/

Gmail is the easiest to replace by far. You can copy everything to Fastmail in hours and be done.

I must say, I appreciate the honesty.

I'm curious.. did the fallacious argument play into your understanding of "honesty" here?

OP: I don't use Google products because Google collects a lot of data. Also OP: I use Amazon Echo instead.

Setting aside whether or not OP even works at Google, did you ask yourself: what basis does OP have to suggest that Amazon or Apple don't collect similar amounts of data?

Feel free to ignore me and not let confirmation bias get in the way of your pitchfork!

What does Android collect?

Please give us an idea what Android collects

> I won a Google home max in an internal contest and immediately gave it away. I have an Alexa.

That made me laugh :)

> I stopped using almost every Google product after I got to see what android collects.

> I have an Alexa.

You think Amazon products are any better?

Xoogler here. Yes.

Rule of thumb on Google things: if there is a bug/decision that bothers you, there is a contingent within Google that is furious about it.

And do their concerns get addressed somewhere up the chain? Do they even have ways to express their concerns?

I've heard there's a similar contingent within Microsoft complaining about all the ads and shady privacy stuff in Windows and they're just left to fester in the echo-chamber of internal Yammer.

Complete outsider here, but the Goomics series shed light on Google's internal culture and one of the recurring themes is the tone deafness of management towards internal dissent.

https://goomics.net/367/

https://goomics.net/334/

https://goomics.net/332/

https://goomics.net/315/

https://goomics.net/311/

https://goomics.net/290/

https://goomics.net/288/

You mean there’s a contingent within Google that further compromises their moral integrity.

Edit: downvotes won’t help you sleep at night!

It seems to be quite a leap from "furious with a product change" to "compromising one's moral integrity".

I don't agree with every decision our PM's go with, but I don't feel compromised either.

> I don't feel compromised.

I get it.

It’s a long road from “dont be evil” to illegal wage fixing, mass ad fraud, omnipresent dragnet surveillance, and cooperation with totalitarian nation states; all of those with compunctions are long gone, the rest are like you.

I’m sure all the work you’ve done and your closest loved ones have done, had amazing “moral integrity”

How do xooglers pronounce "xoogle" ?

“Zoo” “gull” “er”

ex-Googl{e,er}.

For technical things I still find google better, mostly because the manage to get the most recent relevant version of a library, while DDG that was my default often returned out of date versions.

For anything with a political slant, hell no.

Xoogler here: I'm sure if Memegen still exists, someone has made a post about this. Not to be glib, but Googlers are people too and share most of the frustrations about Google's product strategies. I joined right before Inbox was being sunset and there was a small, but very vocal contingent of folks who were upset by that. I myself was a member of the so called Inbox Resistance.

Maybe not a perfect metaphor, but I think of it as similar to how constituents continue to reelect their specific congressperson, but Congress as a whole has record low approval ratings. It's always another PA that's ruining Google ;)

Does Memegen still exist though?

Yes

I would consider paying to be able to use Inbox

You are more-or-less able to do so, if you want:

https://www.shortwave.com/

nice!

Using Inbox was the last time I enjoyed an email client. And actually made it to inbox zero on a regular basis.

Hi Googlers. I have heard that stories about ban for nothing and support who doesn't even tell the reason of ban. I have tied too much of my digital life in Gmail, may I use your contacts here if banhammer hits me? I just reply to every message. Promise not to do obviously bad things.

When gmail was new and invites were all the fad. I nabbed "wolfcub@gmail.com". It got banned and I have never found out why, I was only 17.

Three years ago I got through to support and they never told me other than "it was inclusive internal matter".

Ever since then I've never used gmail for any service.

> I have tied too much of my digital life in Gmail

You should consider untying that knot. It'll only cause you pain.

Heard that all Chrome designers use iPhones.

What does a Chrome designer do?

iPhones and Android phones are pretty much equivalent now anyway.

Designs Chrome.

I'll see myself out.

Except that iphones only allow one browser and that one doesn't support web specs.

Just a solitary data point here, but I notice almost all of the designers I've worked with at any company or agency exclusively use Apple products (iPhones and Macs)

Anylist.

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