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Comment by tzakrajs | Hacker News Reader

> Instead of a nice friendly “campus” we see a Google farm for harvesting Kreuzberg’s brains and talents, or a Google mine in which ideas and data will be extracted out of Berlin

It's simply not a zero sum game. Google will bring culture and resources with it that could enhance Berlin.

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That’s up to the people of Berlin to decide, not a faceless American tech company.

Is that actually even true? Google already has an office in Berlin. They can just buy more buildings.

Even if some local politician decides to block a construction plan, I’m not sure how they would stop Google from just buying existing stuff nearby their old office like Amazon does.

Google in Manhattan bought a building the size of an entire block essentially. It isn’t even what I would call a campus there either.

Berlin’s council can prevent additional real estate acquisitions by Google. They’re already taking measures to keep housing affordable with government intervention.

Germany is not broken how America is, so it’s easier to put people ahead of corporations there.

..yes indeed the German people can decide not to go work at the campus..

After all, democracy is the idea that the people know what is best for them, and deserve to get it good and hard. I prefer Munich anyway.

Do some companies have faces?

Does the city of Berlin?

What culture could Google bring to Berlin?

There are tons of books written about Google's culture, but my favorite is ”How Google Works” by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg.

> Jonathan Rosenberg is the former Senior Vice President of Products at Google and current advisor to Alphabet Inc. CEO Larry Page.

> Eric Emerson Schmidt is an American businessman and software engineer. He is known for being the Executive Chairman of Google from 2001 to 2017 and Alphabet Inc. from 2015 to 2017.

That book surely will paint a fair and objective view.

It is a subjective account by people who were and are very close to Google. Thank you for pointing out the bias for people who may have missed it.

So we’ve reached the point where hagiography of corporations is now the same thing as culture? In that case, I hope Google doesn’t bring its “culture” of colluding with competitors to fix wages to Berlin.

The book has a detailed accounting of the type of culture the founders and executives were intentioning. It is not an unbiased source of information and should be read with discretion.

Wages in Berlin are extremely bad (unless contracting). But I doubt Google is going to pay 250k overall comp like they do in Zurich... They already pay much less in Munich.

Geez, "culture" on how to be a corporation. How relevant to the residents of a community.

I can't complain, I'm also just a yuppie whom Kreuzberger would probably hate, but if their claim about the tax regime is correct, then what's the point of attracting a cancer that would just make everything in your area more expensive...

I'm reminded of John Oliver's segment about tax incentives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bl19RoR7lc

As a person from post-Communist country where this argument ("offices of big corporations in your area will bring culture, resources, and set you free") is used all the time by everyone from media, politicians, to employees, I find this hilarious. Obey.

The argument being made is that Google will impart value onto Berlin while receiving value from the people of Berlin. I never claimed them to be a panacea.

Frogurt

The kind of culture that comes with being a place where young, highly educated, liberal, high earning people come to work and live. It seems like that final bit is the problem for these campaigners, they seem pretty enamoured with the idea of their city staying poor (but sexy).

It's not poor. It's just sort of cheap, quite affordable compared to other places.

But if locals want to keep it that way, then they need to show that they are the majority in that municipal area, or they should have bought the buildings a long time ago.

Or at least strategically important flats (the cheap ones on the ground floor next to the hallway, or just simply the cheapest ones, maybe just a lot in the basement, that grants private property rights) - though it depends on the co-owned property rights in Berlin/Germany, but I hope a condo cannot be sold without all the owners agreeing.

"harvesting brains?"

What is this zombie apocalypse?

> Google will bring culture and resources with it that could enhance Berlin.

Like what? Berlin has a vibrant and energetic tech scene, what is Google going to bring that Kreuzberg is lacking?

coffee that is even more expensive. restaurants and cafes that only Google salary expendable income can afford. and....nothing else.

What "culture and resources" will Google bring that will benefit anyone except Googlers?

There are tons of books written about Google's culture, but my favorite is ”How Google Works” by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg.

With regard to resources, Google has by far has the most sophisticated access to future tech (quantum, ML for example), the most infrastructure (GGC, oceanic fiber, DC/pops), and their incredible scale comes with great advantages.

Well, that's an appropriately non-responsive answer. Thanks!

I edited my answer. Sorry for the lag time.

So even more research becoming only possible at companies, and not at public universities? Even more research that will be kept secret? Even more infrastructure that is only available to the Google monopoly?

No thanks.

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