Now, I'm as skeptical as the next person in regard to Google's "Dont Be Evil" mantra, which makes me snicker just because , well, it seems like an awfully low bar to set for a company. It's like saying my personal motto is "don't kick kittens". Easy!
That being said, Bill Gates' reaction to Google's motto seems tone-deaf even by his near-autistic standards of interpersonal communication.
Q:So that would be the philosophical difference between Microsoft and what Google is up to at this point?
Gates: Well, we don't know everything they are up to, but we do know their slogan and we disagree with that.
Wait, what? You disagree with the idea of not being evil? Somebody get this guy a speaking coach!
From the question above that one:
"In fact, they have this slogan that they are going to organize the world's information. Our slogan is that we are going to give people tools to let them organize the world's information. "
I don't think Bill was referring to "Don't Be Evil".
I think you got this comment out of context! To BillG's credit the para before this question was:
"So Google is not offering development capabilities yet. Of course, I expect they will. But they're not in that game at all today. In fact, they have this slogan that they are going to organize the world's information. Our slogan is that we are going to give people tools to let them organize the world's information. It's a slightly different approach, based on the platformization of all of our capabilities and not thinking of ourselves as the organizer."
So I guess he's referring to the "other" Google motto!
corporations are no more good or evil than bacteria are good or evil.
T. S. Eliot once said:
"Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm but the harm does not interest them."
Avoiding evil is harder than you think, and Google's motto seems like a useful reminder to me.
Or maybe Gates meant that he disagrees that a company cannot not be "evil" sometimes.
Platformization? Now, *that's* evil!
I hope that I shouldn't be inferring from your personal motto that it is OK to kick bunnies or puppies. I think your motto is very exclusionary and I'm sorry that you're so narrow minded.
hey ...gates wouldn't respond like that. He is an awesome sweeper....oops...did I say sweeper....shoud have said...speaker...
I agree with some of the other comments here that BG was referring to something else in this case. But I agree with you that he needs a speaking coach ... it's amazing that he can twist words and use jargon like platformization etc. to create a feel-good attitude about MSFT, while there are some folks who know exactly how that corporation thrives. But I'm having my own doubts about GOOG too ... after all, are they not slowly taking the path that MSFT took a while ago? I see Google-dominance shaping over the next 5-10 years.
I agree with some of the other comments here that BG was referring to something else in this case. But I agree with you that he needs a speaking coach ... it's amazing that he can twist words and use jargon like platformization etc. to create a feel-good attitude about MSFT, while there are some folks who know exactly how that corporation thrives. But I'm having my own doubts about GOOG too ... after all, are they not slowly taking the path that MSFT took a while ago? I see Google-dominance shaping over the next 5-10 years.
hey anil! any chance u will post a message saying u deciphered it the wrong way!!!
I still like that title, though, it's rare to see a triple-negative used so effectively:
"Well, don't *not* be not evil...."
Still made me do a double-take today..... ;-)
You heard the man. Count it.
Hey, whether he meant "don't be evil" or not, you'd think that someone who speaks to the public - and press - so much might think a bit harder about what he's referring to when answering a question.
As I typed that, I thought of George W., who has probably been media-trained a million times and still...well, you've heard him speak...hmm.
Anybody who thinks that corporations are neither good nor evil should DEFINITELY see "The Corporation."
Something not directly related to this thread, more to Microsoft.
Here's some less-carrot-more-stick marketing from Microsoft on MSN.com trying to sell some security solutions ...
First there is this really sinister message that goes:
"Will 'dot-cons' doom the Net?
What can be done to prevent the vulnerable, new Web users from being hoodwinked? The Net is becoming a lawless environment where criminals are getting the upper hand."
This is followed, rather lamely, by:
"Microsoft to offer new security service"
LOL :)
I think this would be too obvious even to the pissing-in-his-pants newbie.