Googling at Google!!!

On my latest adventure with LUIP we got the great opportunity to go to the Google Head Office here in London, and learn about their innovations and inspirations of the future.

                  

Just being in their offices was inspiring. Their work spaces and designs were incredible-very modern and open with fun throughout like ball pits! The staff perks, like an onsite gym and masseuse, free meals with food never more than 500 ft away, makes me hope Google someday will need a personal vet for every office!!

                        

Unlike most companies that want to hide and keep their work secret, Google is an open company who’s motto is ‘accessible and useful’ for all. (Even us!)

           

Google’s 9 Notions of Innovation:

• customer need should lead to creative inspiration
• ideas come from everywhere
• fail quickly (test and find failure to improve upon)
• allow ideas to move (morph into something new)
• creativity loves constraint
• share everything
• data informs decision making (as a scientific mind I LOVE THIS ONE!!!!)
• users come first
• license to pursue passion (all employees must be given up to 20% of their work week to pursue a passion)

            

The open atmosphere and attitude that Google has is inspirational. They are about creating a positive environment to allow ideas to flourish and thrive. And look what they have created:

• Google Translate (essential when traveling abroad, and now the app has new features!!)
• YouTube (who doesn’t use it?!)
• Google Analytics (helpful for businesses and bloggers alike 😉
• Google Science Fair (for 13-18 year olds to show their ideas)
• Google Maps (to save you when you are lost)
• Google Scholar (a help to me many times when writing papers!)

Oh did I mention they are all FREE!!!!!!

        

Some projects they are currently working on that they shared with us:

• Google Fiber– FREE in certain cities in the USA for a limited time, trying to allow everyone access to the internet
• Project Loon– solar powered balloons sent to the stratosphere, 20km from the earths surface,  that will allow people all over the world to access the internet wirelessly
• Hummingbird– like Apple’s Siri it is a conversational search engine… all you say is “Okay Google…”
• SELF DRIVING VEHICLES!!!! yes the future is here!

Oh did I mention the view…

             

I’ll be Google dreaming….

Till next time…