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where will the new playground be? (google IPO commentary)

there always seems to be one playground corporate environment in silicon valley. in recent memory, there was SGI, then netscape, both jim clark joints, who ironically complained about going public and being "drawn and quartered" in whatever that ghost written book he put out was called.

being drawn and quartered means the beginning of the end of the playground work environment, with all workers constantly watching the stock price, and EVERY business decision is based upon three month increments (i.e. the quarter) of what you have to report to the market. there are some things that really suck about working for a public company, and being drawn and quartered is the biggest one.

of course, the cash infusion is great, and allows the playground environment to exist for quite some time while the employees watch the IPO price swirl down in the direction the Coriolis Effect dictates in their particular hemisphere. i had fun witnessing this process with the most successful canadian IPO, but canadian playgrounds can't compare to those in the valley.

a recent trip to google makes it clear that google is currently the reigning king of the playground work environment, also ironically, in one of the former houses that jim clark built (they are in SGI's old offices). plenty o' fluffy couches, stocked fridges full of all the premium drinks you can get your hands on, and search ticker projectors showing the latest (porn filtered) searches in every reception area. lunchtime soccer games in the ampitheatre park, all the free food you can get your hands on in the cafeteria - who wouldn't want to work here? especially with the promise of a (at the time) looming IPO announcement and all this fun, c'mon. the day i was there alone, NBC was shooting a spot in the "quad", and sergey was leading al gore around with an entourage that sat down right next to us in the cafeteria.

now google will have some interesting challenges ahead. with the public market making sure they expand their empire every quarter, things will have to tighten up, right? don't get me wrong, this boatload of cash will fuel plenty of parties and fun sales meetings, and i don't expect those fridges to be downgraded to pepsi products any time soon. with some young founders now rich beyond their wildest dreams, how engaged will they be? expect google to make some public moves with their cash to keep the stock price afloat, and a bunch of new service offerings to squash competitors on many fronts.

so anyway, good luck to google, have fun while it lasts! who's next?