The best job at Google
Recently, I came across two things I would call "Easter Eggs" in Google. The first happened while I was researching Cordyceps to add some facts to my review of Last of Us. I noticed that Google lets you "infect" the search results with the mushroom from the show.
A few days later, I googled "six seven". I guess this is what parents do these days when they try to understand their kids slang. While keying it into the search field, I tried to remember the most strange jargon we used 30 years ago. I couldn't find much other than "cool", which has been in my bubble like forever, at least compared to how quickly these things seem to change nowadays. Then the Google results appeared and started to shake like this in front of my eyes. Again, I was surprised and smiled.
Why do I love this?
In the software industry, we call these things Easter Eggs, and I have always been attracted to them. In fact, 20 years ago, I created an Easter Egg myself, and it almost did cost me my job.
I was responsible for an installation utility for a complex server software. I worked hard to make it as simple as possible. My data showed that users often tried to install the software on network drives (for the tech people, I talk about UNC paths), which didn't work. I decided to block this with a series of error messages.
The first time, it was a normal warning. The second time, it said something like "It’s still not possible". But on the third attempt, the software simply gave up. It aborted the installation with the message "I don't enjoy this any longer. Goodbye!".
I was in the beginning of my career and thought administrators were too clever to trigger it, or if they do, they at least would share the joke. I was wrong. After a few months, someone discovered it and sent a fax of that "Goodbye!" message directly to our CEO. He was not amused. I only kept my job because I could prove that my other improvements had reduced support tickets significantly.
Looking back, this Easter Egg was a really stupid decision. It was destructive and a risk to our reputation.
The professionalization of Delight
This is why I find the approach of Google so fascinating. For many years, they have used "Doodles" to create delight and very often a lot of buzz. For example, when they released the (still playable) Pac-Man Doodle, it was so popular that it reportedly cost the global economy $120 million in lost productivity. But people weren't angry, they loved it.
What surprised me most is that Google, in the meantime, has a dedicated Delight Team, which works solely on these small experiences that make everyone smile. What used to be a 20% project (something engineers did in their spare time, like I did with my error message) is now a professional strategy. The team even has a set of rules to ensure their jokes are fun and not annoying or destructive. This is the job, I honestly dream about to have.
It’s a long way from my "Goodbye!" message to a professional team in Mountain View. But the core idea is the same: Software shouldn't just be a tool for us humans. Sometimes, it should be a reason to smile.