Want to get hired by the next Google? | Hacker News Reader

Want to get hired by the next Google?

blogs.theage.com.au

5 pointspashbonk8 comments

Had a good look at the article, app and various other bits. Some comments:

- sydney based: http://www.martinjwells.com & previously of dot communications ~ http://www.dot.com.au/about/people.htm

- Founder wrote the article (how he wrangled that one I'll never know. one way to get some press)

- more a platform than a tool and used as discussion, blog, as a startup ( http://martinjwells.wordpress.com/2007/04/15/goodbye-blogging )

- realtime (slow): scalability problems will be a problem (testing scalability of your engine is the new 'create a blog engine')

- appears to be imitating myspace: supply the tools, create a community to grow

- ui problems in that from title link in index to detail content there is another layer. Imagine using google and having to click the item found, then another before you get to the content but they seem to be aware of this and concentrating on growing userbase and fixing it rather than wait and design the best user experience ever.

Since this has turned into a discussion on Tangler;

I use Tangler occasionally (I'm Sydney based, so I've met Martin too - great guy, very helpful). The app was kinda slow initially, but it's getting much better. I read posts on it a couple of times a week now, although I don't necessarily prefer it to traditional forum systems. It seems unfocused at the moment, but I suspect that's largely part of their plan to let the users decide where to take the app.

I do agree with bootload that they need to get rid of the second click through layer for topics. That does bug me a bit. Some better visualisation of topics within groups might help too - I feel lost without hierarchical navigation.

I'm pretty sure Google uses the same veto method with ~3 people. I don't think it's a good idea. Some of the best people I've known seemed strange, and even stupid, when I first met them. More than a small group of people with veto power seems likely to filter out many of the greats.

"The next Google". Riiight. Some things look neat, but I definitely wouldn't go that far.

Do you think you would have gone that far when Google was just a search bar with better results? (I'm not particularly claiming that this is the next Google, only that the next Google is extremely hard to spot)

I think you're playing down how much better the search results were between Google and Altavista & Co. I agree the next Google could come out of left field, but my comment is directed toward the author's headline, implying that his company is "the next Google." I may have misinterpreted what he meant, but that's what I was speaking of.

I think he was not saying that he had the next Google; just that most startups have similar screening processes.

I'm not so sure about this veto thing. If there is even just one guy in the team who is really picky about, eg.: personality, then it won't work.

Long interviews are definitely worthwhile, though.

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