Tag: Sergey Brin

Sundar Pichai Unveils Google’s ChatGPT Answer: Bard

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has unveiled Bard, Google’s conversational AI and answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Pichai previously signaled a company “code red” in response to ChatGPT’s popularity. Executives were so concerned about ChatGPT that founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin came back to help the company come up with an answer.

In a blog post, Pichai took the wraps off of the company’s efforts:

It’s a really exciting time to be working on these technologies as we translate deep research and breakthroughs into products that truly help people. That’s the journey we’ve been on with large language models. Two years ago we unveiled next-generation language and conversation capabilities powered by our Language Model for Dialogue Applications (or LaMDA for short).

We’ve been working on an experimental conversational AI service, powered by LaMDA, that we’re calling Bard. And today, we’re taking another step forward by opening it up to trusted testers ahead of making it more widely available to the public in the coming weeks.

Pichai touted the many ways Bard can be used:

Bard seeks to combine the breadth of the world’s knowledge with the power, intelligence and creativity of our large language models. It draws on information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses. Bard can be an outlet for creativity, and a launchpad for curiosity, helping you to explain new discoveries from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old, or learn more about the best strikers in football right now, and then get drills to build your skills.

Pichai also makes clear the company’s intention to aggressively integrate Bard and similar tech into its core search:

AI can be helpful in these moments, synthesizing insights for questions where there’s no one right answer. Soon, you’ll see AI-powered features in Search that distill complex information and multiple perspectives into easy-to-digest formats, so you can quickly understand the big picture and learn more from the web: whether that’s seeking out additional perspectives, like blogs from people who play both piano and guitar, or going deeper on a related topic, like steps to get started as a beginner. These new AI features will begin rolling out on Google Search soon.

With Microsoft planning to unveil ChatGPT-powered Bing search and Google moving forward with Bard, the search industry is on the verge of a major evolution.

February 6, 2023
Sergey Brin Is Coding at Google Again in ‘Code Red’ AI Effort

After years of absence, Sergey Brin is once again back at Google and has just submitted his first code request.

Google is scrambling to come up with an answer to ChatGPT and other conversational AI tech, which many see as an existential threat to the company’s search business. CEO Sundar Pichai issued a “code red,” reorganizing labor in an effort to come up with an answer. The company also called back Larry Page and Sergey Brin to help brainstorm and come up with solutions.

According to Forbes, it appears Brin may be getting comfortable in his old digs and has submitted his first code request since being back. The request was just a two line change to have his username added to a configuration file.

It appears employees are eager to work with Brin, with Forbes’ source saying several dozen engineers approved the request, including some from outside the team.

February 2, 2023
Google Turns to Larry Page & Sergey Brin to Help With AI Strategy

Google has turned to its founders to help it devise an AI strategy as the company faces its biggest challenge yet to its search dominance.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has taken the AI world by storm, with Microsoft working to integrate it with a version of Bing. Google has had to answer some uncomfortable questions about why a startup beat it to market with one of the best conversational AIs to date.

Evidently, the concerns go more than skin deep, with the company calling in Larry Page and Sergey Brin to help it plot its course forward and come up with a response, according to The New York Times.

The Times sources say the two founders reviewed the company’s AI strategy, approved ideas for how to integrate AI chat into Google’s search engine, and provided ideas to company leaders on the best way to proceed with AI implementation.

The fact that Google turned to its founders for help with AI underscores how seriously company execs are viewing the technology in terms of the threat it poses to Google’s core search business.

“This is a moment of significant vulnerability for Google,” D. Sivakumar, a former Google research director, told the Times. “ChatGPT has put a stake in the ground, saying, ‘Here’s what a compelling new search experience could look like.’”

Despite the threat, Mr. Sivakumar believes Google could deploy its significant AI tools to counter the threat.

In the meantime, Microsoft and other rivals have a rare opportunity to use ChatGPT, and similar AI tech, to make headway against Google’s dominance.

January 21, 2023
David Drummond, Alphabet’s Embattled Legal Chief, Announces Retirement

Following news that Larry Page and Sergey Brin were stepping down from their roles in the company, embattled legal chief David Drummond has announced his own retirement.

According to Bloomberg News, Drummond announced his plans in a note he sent to colleagues and that sets January 31 as his final day.

“I believe that it’s also the right time for me to make way for the next generation of leaders,” Drummond wrote in the note, a copy of which Bloomberg News saw.

Drummond has increasingly been in the spotlight of late, due to accusations of sexual misconduct. Drummond engaged in an extramarital affair with subordinate Jennifer Blakely, fathering a child with her. She has since accused him of abandoning her and the child, as well as repeatedly violating company policies governing workplace relationships.

As Bloomberg highlights, “Drummond has said the two went through a difficult breakup and that he ‘never started a relationship with anyone else who was working at Google or Alphabet,’” only to turn around and marry another Google employee in September.

In the wake of this and other scandals, Alphabet launched an investigation into how the company handles sexual misconduct allegations. Company watchers can’t help but wonder if the increasing scrutiny played a part in Drummond’s exit.

January 10, 2020
Sundar Pichai Replacing Larry Page As CEO of Alphabet

In a blog post by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the two Google co-founders outlined major changes to the structure of Alphabet, Google’s parent company.

Page previously served as CEO of Google before the search firm reorganized to create its own parent company Alphabet. With the formation of the new company, Page became Alphabet’s CEO, Brin became president and Sundar Pichai took over at Google. With today’s announcement, Pichai will be taking over as CEO of both companies, with the position of president being eliminated.

“However, since we wrote our first founders’ letter, the company has evolved and matured,” wrote Page and Brin. “Within Google, there are all the popular consumer services that followed Search, such as Maps, Photos, and YouTube; a global ecosystem of devices powered by our Android and Chrome platforms, including our own Made by Google devices; Google Cloud, including GCP and G Suite; and of course a base of fundamental technologies around machine learning, cloud computing, and software engineering. It’s an honor that billions of people have chosen to make these products central to their lives—this is a trust and responsibility that Google will always work to live up to.

The two then built on an illustration they have used in previous founders’ letters, likening the company to a person.

“Today, in 2019, if the company was a person, it would be a young adult of 21 and it would be time to leave the roost. While it has been a tremendous privilege to be deeply involved in the day-to-day management of the company for so long, we believe it’s time to assume the role of proud parents—offering advice and love, but not daily nagging!

“With Alphabet now well-established, and Google and the Other Bets operating effectively as independent companies, it’s the natural time to simplify our management structure. We’ve never been ones to hold on to management roles when we think there’s a better way to run the company. And Alphabet and Google no longer need two CEOs and a President. Going forward, Sundar will be the CEO of both Google and Alphabet. He will be the executive responsible and accountable for leading Google, and managing Alphabet’s investment in our portfolio of Other Bets. We are deeply committed to Google and Alphabet for the long term, and will remain actively involved as Board members, shareholders and co-founders. In addition, we plan to continue talking with Sundar regularly, especially on topics we’re passionate about!”

December 4, 2019
Jason Hope And Google Founders Seek Cures For Heart Disease, Cancer

In 2010, Jason Hope joined Peter Thiel’s bold $3.5 million commitment to ending aging by making a $500,000 donation to the SENS foundation at an event Mr, Thiel held for SENS. The SENS Foundation is the world’s foremost anti-aging lab, working on cutting edge technologies to cure the world’s worst diseases including heart disease, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer, and many others.

Peter Thiel regularly donates in the general range of $1 million annually to the foundation and has been matched by Jason Hope for the last two years.

Many now consider Mr. Hope and Mr. Thiel visionaries in the anti-aging space as the virgin industry is beginning to explode. Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page recently announced they were investing over $100 million dollars into forming a new Google Company called Calico, with the incredible goal of curing aging.

Art Levinson, the famed former CEO and current board chairman of Genentech, has been tapped as CEO. Genentech is the world’s first biotech company, and its founding in 1976 marked the beginning of the accelerating march of technology’s impact on biology. Genentech has made the world a better place for hundreds of millions of people and has grown to be valued at more than $100 billion in less than 40 years. Art Levinson is also the Chairman of Apple, the most valuable company in the world with a market capitalization of over half a trillion (yes, trillion) dollars.

Technology has been experiencing exponentially accelerating growth for some time and we are now at this tipping point where technology is close to allowing us to cure all the diseases of aging within the next few decades. The investment of significant dollars into this endeavor by the world’s foremost tech leaders truly signals the onset of this inevitability.

August 25, 2014
Here’s The Google Founders’ Recent Fireside Chat Video

It’s been a while since we’ve seen the original Google boys in a room together talking about the company, so here’s a fireside chat they did with VC Vinod Khosla.

They spend some time talking about when Google almost got acquired. Here’s a snippet from Sergey Brin (via the transcript):

Well, we had developed this technology we called PageRank – sadly, not BrinRank. But anyway, it probably would’ve sold better that way. But we had developed this technology that we found was useful for search. By itself, it wasn’t really a complete search engine. What we had just searched titles of webpages and ranked them quite well. But we showed it to a bunch of the existing search companies back then. Some of you might remember them – Infoseek, Excite, Lycos. And probably, the greatest interest came from Excite, and actually came from you, Vinod. You were the investor in Excite. We spent a while talking to them, and talking to you, Vinod. You remember that. In the end, I don’t think the management team there was quite as excited about it – no pun intended. But I remember, there were four of us at the time – four grad students at Stanford. I remember, we fired off this note to Vinod. It was just a little e-mail that said, “We really don’t want to sell, but for $1.6 million, you got a deal.” And a few minutes later, we got a reply that said, “That’s a lot of dough, but ok we’ll do it.” That’s characteristic Vinod there. So then, ten minutes later, Scott – one of the four of us – comes running in, laughing. Huge grin on his face. He had faked the reply and back then, the ethics around faking emails weren’t quite the same. Anyway, so he had that big joke. The deal obviously never came to fruition, and we went our own way to build search.

Eventually the discussion turns to where Google is headed, the limitations set by governments, etc.

You can find the full transcript here if you don’t want to sit through the whole thing.

Image via YouTube

July 7, 2014
Sergey Brin’s Love Life Gets The NMA Treatment

Rumors and reports of affairs at Google are nothing new. Last year, it was reported that Eric Schmidt had numerous mistresses despite being married to Wendy Boyl. Now a new report is out on an even bigger affair involving Google co-founder Sergey Brin, his ex-wife, his girlfriend and his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend.

It’s no secret that Sergey Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki split last year. What was a secret until now was one of the reasons behind the split – Brin’s affair with another Google employee. Vanity Fair reports that Amanda Rosenberg, who was once dating Android’s vice president of product management, Hugo Barra, left him in favor of Brin. Barra left Google shortly thereafter, but his resignation was reportedly filed before they split up.

Brin’s romance may be the central subject of the Vanity Fair piece, but it does touch upon the dating culture at Google. Unlike most workplaces, Google doesn’t seem to mind if its employees date and some sources say there are “hundreds of ‘Google Couples’ among its global offices.”

All of this and more has been captured in a new report from our favorite Taiwanese animators. Like the Vanity Fair piece, it mostly concerns itself with Brin’s relationship with Rosenberg; but there is a bit on the casual romance club going on Google.

Image via Taiwanese Animators/YouTube

March 13, 2014
Anne Wojcicki And Sergey Brin Have Reportedly Gotten Separated

According to numerous reports, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki have split up after six years of marriage.

All Things D shares a statement from a spokesperson for the couple:

“They have been living apart for several months. They remain good friends and partners.”

Interestingly, while there may not be a direct connection, the Silicon Valley gossip cycle has been spinning about Hugo Barra leaving Android in light of the Brin/Wojcicki split-up, as Barra’s ex is reportedly seeing Brin.

Google has invested in Wojcicki’s company, 23andMe biotech firm, a biotech firm. In 2007, Google put $3.9 million into it.

It’s unclear whether Wojcicki will continue to wear Google Glass:

Image: TMZ (YouTube)

August 30, 2013
Hugo Barra Leaves Google For Xiaomi

Earlier this year, Android boss Andy Rubin left his team to go join another department at Google. Now the Android team has lost another executive member, but he’s leaving Google for another company.

All Things D reports that Hugo Barra, Android’s vice president of product management, is leaving Google after five years with the company. He confirmed the news in a Google+ post last night:

Hugo Barra9 hours ago

A new Android chapter

After nearly 5½ years at Google and almost 3 years as a member of the Android team — the most amazing group of people I've ever worked with in my life — I have decided to start a new career chapter.

In a few weeks, I'll be joining the Xiaomi team in China to help them expand their incredible product portfolio and business globally — as Vice President, Xiaomi Global. I'm really looking forward to this new challenge, and am particularly excited about the opportunity to continue to help drive the Android ecosystem.

It has been an amazing ride and true honor to be part of the Android team at Google, and I especially want to thank +Andy Rubin , +Hiroshi Lockheimer , +Sundar Pichai and +Vic Gundotra for their phenomenal support and mentorship over the years.

+Android team, I will truly miss you all!

2220 500 Powered by socialditto

Xiaomi later confirmed the news on Twitter as well:

Hugo will be responsible for Xiaomi’s international business development and Android strategic partnerships.Welcome and let's do sth big!

— Xiaomi (@XiaomiChina) August 29, 2013

Interestingly enough, All Things D reports that Barra resigned suddenly without much explanation. Some speculate that a recent breakup with another Googler could be the cause, but the publication is quick to point out that Barra resigned before the end of his relationship. What makes this even more interesting, however, is that Barra’s former love interest is now seeing Sergey Brin who himself had only just recently split with his wife. You probably shouldn’t read too much into it, but it’s still interesting nonetheless.

Putting relationship gossip aside, Barra’s departure from Android is a pretty big deal. Not only will Google have to find somebody else to show off new Nexus hardware at events, but it could also mean that Android might head into an entirely different direction under new team management. Sundar Pichai was made head of the Android team after Rubin’s departure earlier this year, and some speculate that he could merge Chrome and Android despite assurances that it won’t happen. With Barra gone, there may be even less resistance to any proposed major changes to the Android OS.

Of course, this is all merely speculation for now. So far, Pichai seems to have Android’s best interests at heart. Barra will also still have an influence on Android as Xiaomi, alongside other Chinese handset manufacturers, have a lot to lose if Google tries anything funny with its mobile OS.

[Image: Google/YouTube]

August 29, 2013
Googlers Turn Sergey Brin’s Tesla into a Pink Batmobile for April Fools

Now this is an April Fool’s Day prank on the boss.

Apparently, some Google execs decided to mess with co-founder Sergey Brin’s car earlier this week. They proceeded to transform his Tesla Model S into a pink batmobile, complete with headlight eyelashes, batwings, and a giant batman logo.

Awesome.

Google search quality analyst Nathan Johns posted a photo of the reconfigured Tesla Model S. Barry Schwartz over at Search Engine Roundtable tracked down a thread on the Tesla Motors Club forums that confirms that the pink batmobile Tesla is most likely Brin’s ride.

This is funny, and it’s made even funnier when you remember all of that “Sergey Brin is Batman” stuff that started flying around Google HQ a couple of years ago surrounding developments in Google X.

April 5, 2013
Sergey Brin’s Wife Uses Google Glass To Record Video Of TMZ Reporter Who Doesn’t Know Who She Is

Anne Wojcicki, biologist and wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, attended an Oscar pre-party on Sunday, wearing Google Glass (a popular look within the family).

TMZ has put out video from the event, in which the reporter asks her to demonstrate the device, not realizing who she is. She demonstrates by taking her own video of the reporter, and sharing it with a friend before the reporter is even done with his own video.

More of the story at TMZ.

Another Wojcicki, Anne’s sister Susan, who is SVP of Advertising at Google, made some headlines today as well with the launch of new Google ad formats.

February 26, 2013
Facebook Ready For Google Glass, Zuck Talks To Brin [Report]

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founder Sergey Brin (along with Priscilla Chan, Anne Wojcicki and Yuri Milner) announced a $3 million prize for medical reasearch on Wednesday. That was the big story.

Behind the scenes, another story was transpiring. Forbes has a very interesting piece about a discussion Brin and Zuckerberg reportedly had about Google Glass – a conversation, which Forbes reports that Zuckerberg said wasn’t “supposed to be a thing” as he discouraged photography of the meeting (other than for private use).

The report from Ryan Mac, quotes Zuckerberg as saying about Glass, “I can’t wait to get my own.”

More interesting yet, it says Facebook already has a team of three people, including a former Googler, set aside, waiting to get their hands on Google Glass so they can develop for it.

While it remains to be seen what will happen, it’s good to see the companies are at least talking, after recent comments from Zuckerberg indicating that they were not.

Perhaps Brin’s constant wearing of Glass will prove to be a valuable business decision.

In other Google Glass news, word is that Google has asked Warby Parker to help improve the device’s fashion sense. Fashion and Facebook could prove to be incredibly helpful assets for Google in terms of getting it to take off.

Google is currently taking applications from people to get the chance to buy one. They’re certainly creating a lot of buzz.

Here’s the latest video showing of its current capabilities.

February 21, 2013
Zuckerberg, Brin Announce Annual $3 Million Prize for Medical Research

Today, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, his wife Priscilla Chan, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Biologist and businesswoman Anne Wojcicki (Brin’s wife), and investor Yuri Milner have announced a brand new yearly prize that rewards “excellence in research aimed at curing intractable diseases and extending human life.”

It’s called the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. Apple Chairman Art Levinson with chair the new foundation.

“Our society needs more heroes who are scientists, researchers and engineers. We need to celebrate and reward the people who cure diseases, expand our understanding of humanity and work to improve people’s lives. That’s why Priscilla and I are honored to partner with Sergey Brin, Anne Wojcicki, Art Levinson and Yuri Milner to create the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. At $3 million per prize, it’s the largest prize for this work in the world. I’m hopeful this serves as a blueprint for prizes and philanthropy in other fields as well,” said Zuckerberg in a Facebook post.

“Curing a disease should be worth more than a touchdown,” added Sergey Brin.

The inaugural winners have been announced as well, and here’s the full list:

Cornelia I. Bargmann

Torsten N. Wiesel Professor and Head of the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior at the Rockefeller University. Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.
For the genetics of neural circuits and behavior, and synaptic guidepost molecules

David Botstein

Director of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics and the Anthony B. Evnin Professor of Genomics at Princeton University.
For linkage mapping of Mendelian disease in humans using DNA polymorphisms.

Lewis C. Cantley

Margaret and Herman Sokol Professor and Director of the Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
For the discovery of PI 3-Kinase and its role in cancer metabolism.

Hans Clevers

Professor of Molecular Genetics at Hubrecht Institute.
For describing the role of Wnt signaling in tissue stem cells and cancer.

Titia de Lange

Leon Hess Professor, Head of the Laboratory of Cell Biology and Genetics, and Director of the Anderson Center for Cancer Research at the Rockefeller University.
For research on telomeres, illuminating how they protect chromosome ends and their role in genome instability in cancer.

Napoleone Ferrara

Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Senior Deputy Director for Basic Sciences at Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego.
For discoveries in the mechanisms of angiogenesis that led to therapies for cancer and eye diseases.

Eric S. Lander

President and Founding Director of the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. Professor of Biology at MIT. Professor of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School.
For the discovery of general principles for identifying human disease genes, and enabling their application to medicine through the creation and analysis of genetic, physical and sequence maps of the human genome.

Charles L. Sawyers

Chair, Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.
For cancer genes and targeted therapy.

Bert Vogelstein

Director of the Ludwig Center and Clayton Professor of Oncology and Pathology at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.
For cancer genomics and tumor suppressor genes.

Robert A. Weinberg

Daniel K. Ludwig Professor for Cancer Research at MIT and Director of the MIT/Ludwig Center for Molecular Oncology. Member, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.
For characterization of human cancer genes.

Shinya Yamanaka

Director of Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University. Senior Investigator, Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco.
For induced pluripotent stem cells.

Although the inaugural winners total 11, there will only be 5 winners per year moving forward. Each winner receives a $3 million (U.S.) prize. Winners will be selected with the help of previous year’s winners. It will also be a transparent process, allowing for online nominations. There are no age restrictions when it comes to who can be nominated and ultimately win the prize.

February 20, 2013
Sergey Brin Talks ‘Moonshots’ And Pizza

I’m starting to think he really doesn’t take that Google Glass off.

Google co-founder recently spoke at Google’s Solve For X event, and the company has made the speech available online.

The event is about “moonshot” ideas, and he shares his moonshot idea for an online pizza delivery system, which eventually led to the birth of Google.

“Even when you go after a more ambitions goal, or even if you fail to achieve that one, all the side effects that come along the way can be that much more rewarding and significant in their own right,” he says. And that seems to be the basic message he had to deliver – the basic message of the Solve for X event.

February 19, 2013
Zuckerberg, Brin Among ‘Most Generous Donors’ of 2012

In a recent list of America’s “Most Generous Donors,” tech comes out very well.

The list comes to us from The Chronicle of Philanthropy, a magazine devoted to tracking to world of nonprofits.

Mark Zuckerberg and his new wife Priscilla Chan rank #2 on the list after donating nearly $500 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Zuckerberg made the donation back in December 2012 in the form of 18 million Facebook shares. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation is a leading philanthropic trust organization in the area. It’s Zuckerberg’s largest single charitable donation to date, having given $100 million to improve public schools in Newark, New Jersey back in 2010.

Their gift of $498.8 million is second only to Warren Buffet, who spread nearly $3.1 billion around Howard G. Buffett Foundation, NoVo Foundation, and the Sherwood Foundation.

In fifth place on the list is Google’s Sergey Brin and his partner Anne Wojcicki, who donated approximately $222.9 million in 2012, most of it to their own Brin Wojcicki Foundation, which supports multiple causes including “education, environment, women’s issues, and many other causes; the Human Rights Foundation; and Tipping Point Community, a nonprofit that seeks to eliminate poverty in Northern California.”

They also made a $32.8 million contribution to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen also broke the top 5, coming in at #4 for his $309.1 million in 2012 donations.

February 12, 2013
Sergey Brin Refuses to Go Anywhere Without Google Glass

If you just quickly glanced at this, you may wonder why we are highlighting a photo of a middle-aged hipster on the subway. But if you look a bit closer you’ll realize that this dude is wearing some pretty slick glasses.

Glasses worth about $1,500, actually.

Yes, the image above shows Google’s Sergey Brin smiling for the camera, wearing a pair of Google Glass on the subway. The photo was snapped by Noah Zerkin, and posted to Twitter. “Yeeeah…I just had a brief conversation with the most powerful man in the world. On the downtown 3 train. Nice guy,” he wrote.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that Sergey Brin has been spotted rocking Google Glass out in public. He’s actually known for sporting his project pretty much everywhere: charity events, Google events, and now the subway.

Google just sent out invitations to Project Glass pre-orderers for a two-day hackathon event dubbed Glass Foundry. Those hackathons will take place on January 28th in San Francisco and on February 1st in New York City.

[Noah Zerkin via The Next Web]

January 21, 2013
Sergey Brin’s Political Statement Gets Facebook Product Director To Share A Google+ Link

Earlier, we shared a Google+ post Google co-founder Sergey Brin posted last night about today’s elections. In case you missed it, here is what he said:

Sergey Brin8 hours ago

I must confess, I am dreading today's elections.
Not because of who might win or lose.
Not because as a Californian, my vote for President will count 1/3 as much as an Alaskan (actually it won't matter at all — I'm not in a swing state).
Not because my vote for Senate will count 1/50 as much as an Alaskan.

But because no matter what the outcome, our government will still be a giant bonfire of partisanship. It is ironic since whenever I have met with our elected officials they are invariably thoughtful, well-meaning people. And yet collectively 90% of their effort seems to be focused on how to stick it to the other party.

So my plea to the victors — whoever they might be: please withdraw from your respective parties and govern as independents in name and in spirit. It is probably the biggest contribution you can make to the country.

[If you agree, pass it on to your newly elected officials.] 4363 500 Powered by socialditto

Facebook Director of Product found the post so moving that he was actually willing to link to a Google+ post. Almost unheard of.

“I agree with this enough to link to Google+ for it,” Ross wrote on Facebook as he shared a link to Brin’s post. “Partisanship is killing America.”

79 people “liked” it.

Nothing like social media bipartisanship. Maybe this will be the first step towards a more Facebook-oriented social experience in Google search results.

Note: I’m sometimes told that people can’t tell when I’m being sarcastic, so just to be clear, that last line was sarcasm.

November 6, 2012
Sergey Brin To Election Victors: Withdraw From Your Parties, Become Independent

Google co-founder Sergey Brin had some thoughts about today’s presidential election, and shared them on Google+ last night. Here’s what he had to say:

Sergey Brin6 hours ago

I must confess, I am dreading today's elections.
Not because of who might win or lose.
Not because as a Californian, my vote for President will count 1/3 as much as an Alaskan (actually it won't matter at all — I'm not in a swing state).
Not because my vote for Senate will count 1/50 as much as an Alaskan.

But because no matter what the outcome, our government will still be a giant bonfire of partisanship. It is ironic since whenever I have met with our elected officials they are invariably thoughtful, well-meaning people. And yet collectively 90% of their effort seems to be focused on how to stick it to the other party.

So my plea to the victors — whoever they might be: please withdraw from your respective parties and govern as independents in name and in spirit. It is probably the biggest contribution you can make to the country.

[If you agree, pass it on to your newly elected officials.] 3021 398 Powered by socialditto

Brin received a substantial amount of feedback from people on Google’s social network, with thousands of +1s, and hundreds of shares and comments.

November 6, 2012
Sergey Brin Is A Pretty Good Photographer

Google co-founder Sergey Brin is all about some photography, and has used this enthusiasm to market products like Google+ and Google Glass, both of which were major elements of the Google+ Photographer’s conference, where Brin led a photowalk with attendees.

In fact, it’s hard to catch a glimpse of Brin these days, where he’s not wearing his Glass. He was even spotted wearing the device at the signing of the California law that makes Google’s driverless cars street legal in the state.

Brin has posted photos he’s taken with Glass to his Google+ account in the past. This morning he posted the following:

Sergey Brin8 hours ago

If Hitchcock's movie scared you, don't be afraid. Frigate birds are harmless except of course for the occasional dropping. Nonetheless, they along with other bird species can be an overwhelming sight at relatively untouched sanctuaries such as this one on Isla Genovesa in the Galapagos. Though it looks upside down, I shot this pretty much straight up from under a cliff overhang while dodging those little white bombs raining down.

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He didn’t specify whether this photo was taken with Glass (and based on the comments, others are wondering the same thing), but given that he seems to be wearing the device all the time, it seems fairly possible.

Either way, Brin has ben posting quite a few interesting photos to his Google+ account. Here are some other recent shots he has shared (not necessarily taken with Google Glass):

Sergey Brin73 days ago

It is hard to appreciate how vast this world is until you travel to a remote corner and watch your wings take off without you. I was lucky to catch this shot when the plane I had just been on flew off to escape just before sunset.

If you have travelled somewhere remote, how did you feel when your transportation left you?

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Sergey Brin140 days ago

This year has offered a lot of new cameras for photo enthusiasts. One of my favorites — the new Sony NEX-7 packs great image quality in a package far smaller than the typical DSLR. Even with the mondo 18-200 lens, I was able to take this on a ski trip that I would not have brought a full size camera. I came back with a lot of stunning sharp 24 megapixel images. This is one of my favorites.

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Sergey Brin140 days ago

Happy Mother's Day

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Sergey Brin283 days ago

Edward, 72, lives by himself on an otherwise uninhabited island. His diet consists mostly of conch and fish as well as some vegetables from a small garden. Lean and muscular, he looks healthier than most people I know in their twenties.

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Sergey Brin292 days ago

Few landscapes in the world are as surreal as deserts. You may think this photo is heavily edited but it is straight out of the camera.

To get this shot, I climbed onto a concrete wall in the middle of the night, balanced the camera on the edge (the blur on the bottom … sorry), and fired a 30 second exposure.

Even though it was moonlit, the sky was so clear that you can almost make out the nebula in Orion's dagger.

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Sergey Brin296 days ago

After a long day at the office …

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Sergey Brin296 days ago

You might think that this is a macro shot but in fact there just are really big bugs in the south pacific (perhaps someone can identify it). This one landed on a table near me and all I had on me was a wide (35mm) lens. But I got as close as I dared, and with a little crop, here is the result.

Note this is my first try at posting from Picasa as the latest version now has native Google+ support.

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Sergey Brin373 days ago

Taken in the state of majestic landscapes. I have been there twice and have been awed both times by the scenery and I certainly plan to visit again.

We turned around at this point on the hike because it was just a short day trip but it was very tempting to continue on into the wilderness.

Update: As a few of you have mentioned this is Alaska — vast and scenic. Congrats to +Michael N.+John Hawkins+Cyrus Murphy and +Lyndsey Kleppin .

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Sergey Brin376 days ago

You may think I captured this image of a "dragon" in a far off land but in fact it was very close to home. Let me know where you think this is and as always I appreciate feedback on the photo. I'll update the post later today with the story.

Update: First of all, no this is not +Larry Page when he is grumpy.
As many of you pointed out it is in fact a giraffe. And as a few people guessed or deduced the location is
….
<drumroll>
….
Safari West in Santa Rosa — safariwest.com.
This was actually my second time there in a long time. We spent the night in one of their tent cabins and in the morning we took a walk among the animals. It was a bit dreary before the fog burned off (many of you guessed sf for that reason) so I was ambivalent about bothering to lug around the big 28-300 lens. In fact I wasn't very satisfied with the light as I got some giraffe closeups. But as we headed off toward the rhinos I took one last look back, embraced the foreboding atmosphere, and caught this fortuitous pose.

To give credit where it is due +Chris Connelly got the location first followed by +Igor Shevlyakov+David Andersen+Janet Rae-Dupree+Dinesh Nandan+Joe Foos+Tetsu Noguchi+Gabe Norwood+Barry Ross+Ted Martin+Matson Breakey …

For photo buffs, I like the 28-300 for its versatility but it is heavy. In this shot you can also see some chromatic aberration along the giraffe's neck which is a bit surprising.

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Sergey Brin399 days ago

Floating over the San Francisco Bay, it is hard to miss the amazing colors of the salt evaporation ponds at the southern tip. Depending on the salinity level of a particular pond, the color can vary from green to orange to red based on the ecosystem that flourishes at that concentration.

As you can probably guess, I took this shot from an airship. Since getting to know the folks over at airshipventures.com, I have had the pleasure of flying with them several times and this loop in the south bay is arguably the most scenic. I will probably give it another go when they get back to SF in October.

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Sergey Brin406 days ago

I recently found an old flash card that I had misplaced and came across this shot. We were staying at a lodge in the Okavango Delta. Our guide had phenomenal vision and spotted something stirring under a tree perhaps two miles away.

When we drove there, we found this cheetah resting in the shade. His expression and the calming background were a magical view of the world's fastest hunter.

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Sergey Brin420 days ago

Here is another set of Egypt photos. This country has lots of natural beauty — underwater is no exception.

I shot these with a 5D II in an Ikelite housing with a 35 1.4 lens.

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Sergey Brin437 days ago

Pyramids

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Sergey Brin437 days ago

Pyramids

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October 1, 2012
Sergey Brin Shows Off Sunglasses For Google Glass [Pics]

Google ended the Google I/O Day 2 keynote by rehashing yesterday’s Project Glass skydiving stunt, but “from a different perspective”. This time, it was much less exciting, especially once the reality set in that they weren’t really announcing anything new.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the whole thing was that Brin was wearing some kind of clip-on sunglasses for Google Glass, which he referred to as a new iteration of Google Glass: “shade clip-in.”

Essentially, viewers saw the same stunt as the one Google pulled off yesterday performed again, but we were given a behind-the-scenes Hang out view from the players’ perspective.

If you haven’t seen the stunt, you can watch the full presentation here:

And then there’s the rehearsal footage:

June 28, 2012