Do a Google Image search for "atari breakout"(images.google.com)
images.google.com
Do a Google Image search for "atari breakout"
http://images.google.com/
31 comments
Incidentally, the game also reveals a list of 418 specific image searches that Google considers interesting: http://pastebin.com/G3mZf0C6
I wonder Google came up with that list.
I wonder Google came up with that list.
This stuff is both great and depressing. The problem is that some companies, like Google, 37signals, etc. let their workers do these kinds of projects. Yes, some of them will bring those companies more customers, but the reality is that it's not clear if the hours put into this type of thing will ever pay off. Despite that, these companies can afford to have 20% time, or whatever it is, and let their employees mess around.
What makes me sad about this is how this kind of stuff is perceived by the rest of the community. People seem to follow the cargo cult of "Google has 20% time, so should we", thinking that it's the 20% time that makes Google special. I think copying this behavior until you are flush with cash is dangerous. I tried to implement it with the previous team I ran and it was more or less a disaster. It became an entitlement which you couldn't take away, but did not produce any direct or even indirect positive results no matter how we spun it. Productivity actually suffered as a result, while the 20% projects were completely unusable.
Has any startup been able to get away with this kind of thing, and if so how did you do it?
Edit: I should add that my previous team was a mess on many levels. While we had brilliant individuals, getting the company to move in lockstep in one direction was close to impossible, so there are many confounding factors to my experience. Perhaps a happy team that hadn't been terrorized by the upper management for a year and a half would have done better.
What makes me sad about this is how this kind of stuff is perceived by the rest of the community. People seem to follow the cargo cult of "Google has 20% time, so should we", thinking that it's the 20% time that makes Google special. I think copying this behavior until you are flush with cash is dangerous. I tried to implement it with the previous team I ran and it was more or less a disaster. It became an entitlement which you couldn't take away, but did not produce any direct or even indirect positive results no matter how we spun it. Productivity actually suffered as a result, while the 20% projects were completely unusable.
Has any startup been able to get away with this kind of thing, and if so how did you do it?
Edit: I should add that my previous team was a mess on many levels. While we had brilliant individuals, getting the company to move in lockstep in one direction was close to impossible, so there are many confounding factors to my experience. Perhaps a happy team that hadn't been terrorized by the upper management for a year and a half would have done better.
Just like people dream of rock star programmers, instead of focusing on the miracle projects that people are supposed to produce in this 20% "mess-around" time (which is not, by definition, messing around if you expect them to actually produce something reliably) maybe one should focus on the value added to the individuals.
Messing around with a new framework or some prototype in your current language of choice means that you won't be (or won't have to) trying some new stuff on a production-class project. As an individual it is a great opportunity to hone your skills and knowledge, and help find the fun again in what could otherwise be a bland job.
This is actually iteration zero of a project, dedicated not to hopeful production of worthwhile deliverables, but production of the minds that will make (other) projects happen. Because when you will start working on iteration one of a new project, a new feature, then it is too late to mess around.
It just happens that sometimes great things could come out, but they're a statistical oddity.
Messing around with a new framework or some prototype in your current language of choice means that you won't be (or won't have to) trying some new stuff on a production-class project. As an individual it is a great opportunity to hone your skills and knowledge, and help find the fun again in what could otherwise be a bland job.
This is actually iteration zero of a project, dedicated not to hopeful production of worthwhile deliverables, but production of the minds that will make (other) projects happen. Because when you will start working on iteration one of a new project, a new feature, then it is too late to mess around.
It just happens that sometimes great things could come out, but they're a statistical oddity.
This is not new, in the 1950s HP and 3M employees had respectively 10% and 15% time. The post-it was invented during this 15% time at 3M.
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/08/today-is-goof-off-a...
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/08/today-is-goof-off-a...
That makes sense. And I'm sure a ton of time was spent on things that never saw the light of day. I guess my view on it is that if you want to run a lean startup, X% time is going to work against you. Once you are the size of Google, Amazon, HP, or 3M, then go for it. Otherwise, your startup is your X% time.
This gets tricky with companies that are no longer startups, but are not the 800 lb gorilla in their space either. Do you derive more efficiency from fostering X% time, or by getting your team to focus on the problem at hand?
I suppose that in the end, if your team is unhappy with the overall direction of your company, throwing them an occasional carrot will not fix things. You need to actually fix the underlying problem.
This gets tricky with companies that are no longer startups, but are not the 800 lb gorilla in their space either. Do you derive more efficiency from fostering X% time, or by getting your team to focus on the problem at hand?
I suppose that in the end, if your team is unhappy with the overall direction of your company, throwing them an occasional carrot will not fix things. You need to actually fix the underlying problem.
You bad, bad person. I already didn't have enough to do today.
http://xkcd.com/356/
Their Pac-Man Doodle allegedly caused ~5million lost hours of productivity, I look forward to seeing how much this one racks up :)
Assuming that those who played the game would have been productive otherwise.
hey is that 5million lost hours an actual amount? or did you just make it up lol just curious.
5 million hours of productivity lost in 1 day. The total is many times higher.
http://blog.rescuetime.com/2010/05/24/the-tragic-cost-of-goo...
http://blog.rescuetime.com/2010/05/24/the-tragic-cost-of-goo...
The previous post with this topic is still ranking higher than yours. Please "skim" HN before posting ;).
previous discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5703713
previous previous discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5701553
previous previous discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5701553
I'd love to be the person responsible for creating these. Talk about an awesome job description.
It's a whole team, actually :)
Its truly awkward and surprising that google continues to have time for easter eggs like this one, but yet continue to sunset/kill valuable projects like Reader and others because there is noone at their organisation to maintain the codebase.
Hey HN, let's get it all out of our system in replies to joering2! Who here is still frustrated about Google killing off Reader, but hasn't yet commented about it on an unrelated story? Vent on!
Yeah, it's almost like Google had a reason for shuttering Reader that is almost completely unlike any other product they offer. If they close the unprofitable Reader, obviously the massively profitable [insert product here] will be next!
Was it just me?
After finishing one game and clicking on returning to images i ended up with an image search page with the search term as "Budgerigar"...An interesting looking bird.
If intentional, any specific significance?
If intentional, any specific significance?
I got "jellyfish." I think it might just be interesting picture searches from a list.
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When I cleared the level it automatically searched for cabbage roll and now I'm hungry. Did they also arrange an order for delivery?
If you screen is small enough, your paddle ends up above the images. (I tried this with Firefox 20.0.1)
I'd rather them support their existing products than create this.
without quotes
nice
Damn you Google!