Google trumps Microsoft in Seattle

UPDATE: Kirlkland called, and a (Micro)Softie responded!

 

David Bennett, Microsoft Software Development Engineer, happily announces to the world at a Microsoft TechNet blog that:

I just accepted a position to work at Google up in Kirkland, so still in Seattle.  I will be starting there on the 30th of April, so not long now.  My first week will be down in Mountain View doing a orientation thingy.  So those people down in San Francisco, be nice to meet up again. I think this will be a good change and a fun job. 

Apparently, Microsoft does really believe in blogging transparency!

 

BTW: Post originally titled: Google vs. Microsoft in Seattle.

 

JANUARY 7, 2007: In “Are Google blogs just PR?” I muse about possible forthcoming “big” Google announcements in this new year: multi-billion dollar acquisition, Google Phone launch, YouTube compensation to content owners… 

 

Google’s first official public announcement for 2007 came via standard press announcement, as I report in “Google partners with China Mobile on WAP portal.”

 

The official Google blog has made three posts to date in this new year; Two of the three are promotional fare for its “Seattle-Kirkland R&D Center”: “Kirkland calling” and “A field trip to Google.”

 

“Kirkland calling” is a direct solicitation for engineers. Google seeks to attract:

 

The best talent in the Pacific Northwest -- folks who are serious about their coffee and don't especially want to move to Silicon Valley…

 

So if you're an engineer, UE expert or product manager who loves coffee (not to mention the mountains and the sea) -- and you want to have a great time while you're building world-changing products, please consider our Northwest outpost.

 

 

“A field trip to Google” pitches future Google (over Microsoft) engineers:

A group of Seattle-area high school students visited our Kirkland office. The point of such visits is to inspire teens to think about working in technology some day. Here's a firsthand report from Jenna Warman, a student at Lake Washington High School:

“I had no idea there was a Google campus located in Kirkland...We met some of the Google workers, who showed us their current projects they had been working on, such as Google Maps and Google Talk...After that they each grabbed a small group of kids and led us up and down the hallways showing us the different offices and mini kitchens. My tour guide explained that at Google the employees do not just sit in their offices all day -- they walk around and visit each other..."

Google’s “Northwest outpost” in Microsoft territory is two years old. Google proudly notes its Seattle/Kirkland engineering accomplishments to candidates: 

Google Search: Real time Olympics results
Google Maps: Geostore for worldwide mapping data
Google Video: Video player & tools
Google Webmaster Central & Sitemaps: Crawling & indexing data and tools
Google Talk: Fast file transfers
Gmail Chat: Quick contacts
Google Toolbar: Google Toolbar for Firefox
Google Desktop: Google Gadgets
Google Pack: Google updater
Google Calendar: Mobile messaging

Google is currently recruiting about 50 positions for its “Seattle-Kirkland R&D Center”:

Engineering, Operations and IT, Product Management, Advertising Sales, Human Resources, User Experience...

There is such a thing as a “free lunch,” at Google. Google’s public facing Kirkland pitch attempts to lure engineers with a mouthwatering typical lunch menu:

Roasted turkey breast, chili red bean patties, scalloped potatoes, roasted cranberry & Satsuma orange salad, classic clam chowder, carrot and coriander soup. You really can't operate in the Seattle area without offering good food, of course, so we offer as much good fuel -- fresh, healthy, and, whenever possible, locally-grown -- as it takes!

Prospective hires may be hungrier for a large helping of GOOG, however. Google has that angle covered, too: “Google online auctions for employee stock options."

SEE: The new Google risk: Googlers

ALSO: Why Google IS afraid of Microsoft, big time and What Microsoft is telling Google about mobile search and Google CEO gets feisty over Microsoft monopoly  and Google’s high-speed battle with Microsoft and How Google SPIN trumps Microsoft PR