REFLECTING ON 18 YEARS AT GOOGLE

Summary from the TLDR Web Dev newsletter

Ian Hickson, the creator of Flutter (cross-platform app SDK) reflects on their 18-year tenure at Google, from its early post-IPO days to recent years. Initially, Google's culture was driven by a genuine desire to do good, guided by the "don't be evil" principle. However, over time, cultural shifts occurred, with less transparency and a shift in focus from user benefit to company and individual gain. Recently, Google's morale has declined, especially due to layoffs, and Hickson perceives a lack of visionary leadership and an increase in inept middle management.