[andyking]

Isn't it just an office block?

I'm in radio and people frequently want to visit radio stations - they have this image of a fun, glamorous, star-studded workplace where anything goes.

They're usually pretty disappointed when they see the sales office, the programming office, a tatty kitchen and a tiny, basic studio in a broom cupboard.

Surely Google is the same - it's acquired a legendary status, but it's just... well, an office, like you go to work in every day. I'm sure there are more interesting places to visit in California.

[jamesaguilar]

As a Googler, yeah, basically this. I mean it's a better office complex than where ninety percent or more of people work, and I am thankful for that and suitably appreciative. But, it's not a theme park. The only genuinely fun thing for me there is the free arcade, and I suppose some people would say the sports fields.

[daave]

Interesting. I've never been to MTV, but as a Googler who frequently volunteers to give tours for school/university groups in the NYC office, I'm thrilled by how wowed the visitors are at our office space.

Perhaps we Googlers start to take for granted some of the things that really are quite extraordinary - like the 150ft to food policy, the pieces of historical computing machinery that are kept around, the guest chefs that visit, the artworks that have been commissioned, the fact that we hold regular 'espresso office hours' and occasional mixology classes, and even the corporate essentials that Google really pulls off, like the Tech Stops, phone rooms, visitor badging system and video conferencing setup. Even though it's 'just an office space', it isn't like any other, and getting to see it as a potential future employee can be pretty motivational.

[jamesaguilar]

True. Also, I'm more wowed by offices that aren't MTV. The density of cool is a lot higher at e.g. Santa Monica or SF (and NYC, I presume, though I've never been).

[ilyanep]

There are the parts of the Googleplex that are kind of fun and sometimes serve as a weird tourist-y attraction (parts of the main quad, the infamous slide, various Google Earth machines, lots of other stuff), and the rest of the content of the buildings is definitely just boring offices and some cafes.

I've only been to the Googleplex like three times, but I think it's fun to go visit at least a few times. Past that, it just becomes a place with desks to work at and some free food.

[spuz]

I'd like to see the new Google climbing wall :)