Google has nearly 25,000 employees (according to a search I did on Google just now), and they’re involved with all types of projects. Many have nothing to do with search.

In the email I saw, a Googler (yes, it really was someone who worked for Google) was asked about the Penguin update, if they knew anything. Response?

I assure you 100% that there has been nothing at Google referred to as “Penguin.”

If you notice on those search results you sent me, not a single source is from Google itself.

The person asking had forwarded the Googler search results for “Penguin Update.” I’m not surprised there was no source from Google itself in those results. That’s because Google didn’t formally give Penguin its name until I pried it out of them two days after the launch, two days after the official blog post went up.

The Googler went on:

From what I just saw on this whole Penguin thing–it sounds to me like a lot of SEO companies that use shady and unethical practices are upset that their loop holes have been cut out!

Actually, it’s not really been a lot of SEO companies that I’ve seen complaining. It’s been a lot of individuals who have been hit, and quite likely for black hat SEO tactics that Penguin was intended to punish.

Bottom line: should you encounter one of those 25,000 Googlers, don’t assume that they have inside knowledge about ranking issues. Chances are, they don’t.

I also noticed that Shailesh Rao, who was once director of local for Google and then later the managing director of Google India recently became VP of International Revenue for Twitter.

Stricker was at Google for more than 5 years, when many people start to get the “wandering eye.” It appears that Stricker’s announcement of his departure from Google was his very first tweet.

Twitter and Google have been occasional antagonists, most recently around the launch of SPYW and integration of Google+ content into search, which Stricker would have defended against Twitter accusations that it was self-serving. Now he will undoubtedly have to present and promote anti-Google positions from time to time.

Twitter’s communications team is now fully staffed with former Google people. Then again a big chunk of Facebook’s top-level executives are from Google.

Stone declines to query Page about privacy, antitrust and Google’s myriad problems with regulators and governments around the world. In his answers about a range of issues, Page is confident and seemingly reflective. However his responses suggest Page still regards Google as the cool tech company that was generally beloved by all but its competitors.

Levy on the other hand points out the ways in which that image no longer applies. While Levy celebrates Page’s “focus” and “impatience,” he also identifies Google’s very real legal and “political” vulnerabilities today:

Google was once widely viewed as a feisty startup, an underdog that was on the side of the people; now people increasingly see it as a mighty and distant power that knows too much about them.

This shift in perception is dangerous to Google. It provides cover to politicians and regulators (many of whom are being lobbied furiously by Google’s competitors) who want to hobble a company that seems to have a troubling amount of power. The constant scrutiny of the DOJ and the FTC have already hurt Google considerably: when considering acquisitions, there’s not only the possibility that government will block the move — there’s the certainty that the long approval process will lower the value of the purchase.

One of the more interesting exchanges in the Brad Stone article is the discussion of Steve Jobs’ rage against Google for “stealing” the look and feel of Android. Page argues that it was all an act:

I think the Android differences were actually for show . . . I think that served their interests. For a lot of companies, it’s useful for them to feel like they have an obvious competitor and to rally around that. I personally believe that it’s better to shoot higher. You don’t want to be looking at your competitors. You want to be looking at what’s possible and how to make the world better.

This is a curious response and probably inaccurate given the myriad other accounts of Jobs’ anger toward Google (he ousted Eric Schmidt from the Apple board, for example). It’s unclear whether Page’s remarks are spin, a rationalization or whether Page genuinely believes what he’s saying.

And just as Jobs seemed to be fixated on Android, Page seems equally fixated on Facebook. Though he says, “You don’t want to be looking at your competitors” he takes a couple of shots at Facebook in the Bloomberg Story:

I mean, our friends at Facebook have imported many, many, many Gmail addresses and exported zero addresses. And they claim that users don’t own that data, which is a totally specious claim. It’s completely unreasonable.

The Facebook fixation and related product changes (i.e., privacy policy changes, SPYW) that aim to capture and deliver against the kind of personal data that Facebook possesses may ultimately damage Google more than they help the company. That will only be revealed in time.

Both articles suggest that Page is doing well from an internal, management perspective and generally well regarded as a CEO. He’s even characterized as “charming.”

One potential antidote to some of the image problems that Levy identifies is a more public Page. Perhaps he just needs to bring a little of that personal charm more out in the open. The Bloomberg article may signal that he’s going to start doing so.

Postscript: A Google spokesperson emphasized to me that the Bloomberg/BusinessWeek article is an “excerpt” from a “forthcoming magazine story,” which presumably will explore antitrust and privacy issues — major issues for Google today — in some depth.

Google scored a 3.9 overall by their employees while Facebook scored a 3.7. In 2011 Facebook scored a 4.2 and Google scored a 4.1. Although Facebook employees earn about $3,000 more on average than Google employees and although the interview process is harder at Google than Facebook, Googlers in 2012 are more happy with their company than Facebook.

Googlers seem to complain less about long hours and work/life balance issues than Facebook. I guess that comes with Facebook still being in a pre-IPO phase. While Googlers complain more about salary and compensation. Also, more Googlers approve of their CEO when compared to Facebook employees.

Here is the Infographic sent out by Glassdoor on the survey results:

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While we already provided coverage of the keynote via Greg Sterling’s live blog of the conversation, we also have several video clips that our readers may have missed — and that attendees may want to revisit.

Susan Wojcicki On Google+ & Personalized Search

Susan Wojcicki On Google’s Privacy Policy Changes

Susan Wojcicki On The Creep Factor & “Do Not Track”

Susan Wojcicki: Mobile Is Finally Here!

Susan Wojcicki On Why Google Buys Companies

Susan Wojcicki On Hosting Google In Her Garage

Susan Wojcicki’s Background

Susan Wojcicki: The Whole Interview

Click here to view the embedded video.

Susan Wojcicki: Audience Q&A (several questions on a variety of topics)

You can also see these videos and more on the Search Marketing Expo YouTube channel.

He is leaving Google to join the Khan Academy.

Craig helped Google’s co-founders, Larry and Sergey, build the original Google search engine. He did this while in the Stanford University dorm rooms. Now he has been acting as a mentor to other Googlers. His title at Google most recently was director of technology.

The picture on this story is from a picture at Google featuring some of the prominent Googlers on cereal boxes. Craig is “Special Kraig” third box down on the right.

Here is a video Silverstein gave at the University of North Carolina in 2008 about Google’s origins:

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The interview shares some insights into Amit’s role at Google, how Google tests new algorithms, and what the future for Google search is. I though it would be fun to categorize the quotes into those three groups and simply quote the story:

Amit At Google:

I came in and said ‘I’m a search academic, why don’t you let me practise that?’ I didn’t really read the Google code, and wrote a parallel version, telling them, ‘This is how I would do it.

My original algorithm has become a foundation on which we have an even more beautiful building.

Google Tests Algorithms:

We have the entire web in a sandbox that only our engineers can see, and our engineers can take their new algorithm and see it change millions of queries. If it works, we send it to testers, whom we pay, but we don’t tell them what they are testing.

Then we take a tiny slice, one per cent of our users, and expose them to this change. We measure things such as where on the page they click, when they click higher – that’s good for us.

Concurrently we have approximately 100 ideas floating around that people are testing – we test thousands in a year. Last year we ran around 20,000 experiments. Clearly they don’t all make it out there but we run the process very scientifically.

We look at that with a group of senior people who come together every week, and we decide if it’s good for users, the web ecosystem and for our systems.

Future Of Google Search:

That team is doing such amazing science, and bringing me closer to my childhood dream – how does it get any better?

But still the ultimate aim for Singhal is to build the Star Trek communicator of his childhood. “The key to this is when you can have a Star Trek Googlephone, where you can say, ‘Google, tell me how Alfred Nobel made his money’.

You can seek any knowledge on demand. How much more productive would humanity be if we can achieve this? “Today I feel more excited about my dream, it is almost within grasp,” says Singhal.

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[Page] reorganized the company’s management structure, redesigned the face of the company’s products and pushed forward with a multibillion dollar deal to acquire a cellphone manufacturing outfit.

He also launched two other products aiming at Groupon, the leader of online coupons, and Facebook, the top social networking site.

Google (GOOG) in the past two quarters blew away analyst views while boosting revenue by 32% and 33%, respectively.

Page officially took over from Eric Schmidt in April (with the CEO switch announcement almost exactly a year ago). We wrote a number of articles at the time speculating about the rationale for the change and outlook for Google under Page’s leadership:

• Larry Page Takes The Helm As Google CEO Today
• Was It Time For A Fresh Face? Thoughts On Larry Page As The New Google CEO
• A To Do List For Google’s New CEO Larry Page
• Larry Page And The Reinvention Of “The Google”
• Google Turns To Page: The Day Two Narrative

Page has done a number of major things since taking over in April:

• Reorganized Google’s management structure for efficiency and faster decision-making
• Launched Google+ (and Google Offers)
• Shuttered numerous products and initiatives (and brought more focus)
• Bought Motorola Mobility (for $12.5 billion)

Most impressively however Page (and team) were conscious of the dangers of falling into a kind of bureaucratic malaise as the company matured — and sought to intervene in real time. There was already some evidence that it was happening. But to a large degree bureaucracy and its related challenges are a natural function of growth and maturation.

Companies periodically need to be “reinvented” or “shaken up” or they lose the qualities and momentum that made them successful. But reorgs can also go badly wrong. And while Page hasn’t “reinvented” Google he certainly has brought decisiveness and clarity, which seems to have reinvigorated the company in several respects.

What’s also interesting is that these changes internally are mirrored in a different way externally in Google’s increasing marketing polish and sophistication. Google’s consumer-facing TV commercials are an example — in particular its recent Muppet-themed TV promotion of Google+:

The commercial is not only clever it was likely expensive to produce. Google had to obtain the rights to the Queen-David Bowie song “Under Pressure” and gain agreement from Disney for use of the Muppets in the spot. It’s also not something that one would have imagined from Google as recently as a couple of years ago and reflects a philosophical shift toward consumer marketing. We can see it in the way Google is now marketing Android too.

Having said all that, Page still faces many challenges and the road ahead is lined with legal potholes. Indeed, Page is under more legal pressure, so to speak, than was his predecessor Eric Schmidt. And 2012 should bring some of that to a head, at least in Europe.

Yet, so far, Page’s tenure has been impressive. In less than a year, he has managed to accomplish almost everything he set out to do.

As many of you know, Google has a policy to let their engineers spend 20% of their time work on anything they want. Products like AdSense came from it. But is the 20% time really all that great? The Dilbert cartoon pokes fun that although Googlers do have 20% time, they also on average work 60-plus hours per week.

This is not the first time Google was featured in Dilbert, here are some of the other times:

• Dilbert Cartoon: Caught For Paid Links On Google
• Dilbert Cartoon Says “No” To Black Hat SEO

Facebook tops Google with the number 3 listing, whereas Google moved up for their 2011 spot of 30 to number 5. In 2010 Google was rated number 14, and in 2009 Google was rated number 7.

Glassdoor.com developed a 20-question company survey that captures employees’ attitudes about: Career Opportunities, Communication, Compensation & Benefits, Employee Morale, Recognition & Feedback, Senior Leadership, Work/Life Balance, and Fairness & Respect. This survey is what makes up the final score for where a company is ranked.

Google’s overall score was a 4.0, whereas Facebook scored a 4.3. Google’s CEO had a 92% approval rating and Facebook’s CEO scored a 89% approval ratings from their employees.

I should note, while Google had 99 ratings, Facebook only had 28.

Related Stories:

• Report: Google Still Top Desired Place To Work
• Study: Google, The “Most Attractive Employer”
• Google To Hire 6,000 Plus, While Yahoo Cuts Additional 1%
• Yahoo Search Engineers, Google Wants To Hire You
• Amongst Google Layoffs, Google Continues To Hire
• Google Changes Hiring Process To Meet Job Opening Needs
• Google’s Hiring Again
• More Yahoo Layoffs Coming Soon
• Updated: Yahoo Layoffs Happening Now
• Search Biz: AOL Spin Off, Yahoo Layoffs, Google Losses, IAC Spoons …
• Yahoo Layoffs Happening Live Online
• Yahoo Laying Off About 600 Employees
• Yahoo Cuts Positions, Shifting Search Emphasis