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Going (to) Google

McGoogle

This is my last week at Endeca. The decision to leave has been a heart-wrenching one: not only have the past ten years been the best of my life, but my experiences at Endeca have defined me professionally. Moreover, Endeca is riding a wave of success with recent advances in our products, new relationships with key partners, and fascinating new deployments.  (You can read Endeca’s latest announcements in our newsroom).

Ironically, it is this very success that compels me to move on. In the past several years, I have developed an increasing passion for search on the open web–an interest only furthered by the explosion of social media.

That is why I’ve decided to accept an opportunity at Google’s New York office. Readers here know that I’ve been a very public critic of Google’s simplistic approach to user interaction on the open web. I’m being offered an opportunity to help fix that approach–and it is an offer I can’t refuse. My mission is to apply my passion for human-computer information retrieval (HCIR), an approach that Endeca has pioneered in the enterprise, to the world’s largest information problems–and where better to do that than at the company that aspires to organize the world’s information.

This moment is bittersweet: I am excited about the new experiences that await me, but I have a heavy heart as I turn in my badge and part with a world-class team that has succeeded against incredible odds.

Given my role and tenure at Endeca, I want to say explicitly that this move is about my personal ambition. My passion for web search and social media, which have grown exponentially over the past couple of years, simply doesn’t align with Endeca’s focus in the enterprise.

Also, I want to make clear: Google hired me because of my values, and not in spite of them. I know that some folks will find it difficult to reconcile my criticisms of Google with my decision to join. That’s why there’s an opt-out village! Seriously, though, I take my values with me. Google is offering me the opportunity to channel my passion for HCIR into action, on the world’s largest stage. I’m well aware of the magnitude of the challenge, but hey, I’m feeling lucky.

Daniel Tunkelang's avatar

By Daniel Tunkelang

High-Class Consultant.

65 replies on “Going (to) Google”

I’d like to offer my congratulations. This is an amazing opportunity, and I’m sure you would go to google only on the condition that they’re actually expecting great work from you.

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CONGRATULATIONS! Exciting times. And I look forward to your book – and your fixing the Internet. Leigh (@csmlibrary)

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Congrats Daniel. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of an opportunity like this.

(psstt .. always available for interesting news from inside the great beast of search – anon always respected 🙂 )

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I bet you’re feeling lucky. Sounds like a great opportunity for you and a big coup for the big G. I’m looking forward to all the great stuff that will doubtless result from the coming together of the Tunkelang and the Google.

Congrats!

Evan

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Gene, still figuring that out. I’ll ramp up by working as an individual contributor on a project that offers an HCIR angle while helping me get up to speed on how things work at Google (both technically and organizationally). I have all sorts of aspirations beyond that, but my first priority is to establish concrete proof points for HCIR on a web scale. I know that won’t be easy, but it’s what I’ve signed up for.

And Steve, thanks for the offer, but I want my news to make it onto the front page of Techmeme! Barring that, I can always put it on the front page of The Noisy Channel. I know an insider there. 🙂

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It’s always sad to leave a place you’ve been at for a long time. I’m looking forward to seeing your influence in Google. Congrats!

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Daniel – Congrats and good luck in your next adventure! As another ex-Endecan, just wanted to say thanks for all you did for the company – it wouldn’t be what it is without you.

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I’ll echo what Mark said and add it was great to have worked with you. Congratulations on the new gig. I’ll be interested in your take on Google a year from now! Good luck.

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Congratulations again, Daniel. As you know, I’ve been loving my time thus far at Google. I’m sure it’ll treat you well. Hope you can make it out to the Pittsburgh office sometime soon-ish.

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Daniel: Wow! Such amazing news! Wishing you all the best in your new role at Google. You are fortunate to address a problem that you have criticized. Not many get that chance. I’m sure you’ll make the most of it!

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I have all sorts of aspirations beyond that, but my first priority is to establish concrete proof points for HCIR on a web scale. I know that won’t be easy, but it’s what I’ve signed up for.

By the way, if it’s at all possible, those efforts are really something that you should blog about. Naturally you won’t be able to say how you do the things you do. But if you can talk about what you’ve done to show the value of HCIR at web scale, that would be of keenest interest to your audience here 🙂

Part of the challenge I think you face is convincing the Google quants that their metric is wrong. Currently, the metric is “that which gets the user off the site and on to the rest of the web quickly is better“. If that’s the metric that you’ll be judged by, then you will fail — through no fault of your own but because you’re essentially solving a different task.

Because what HCIR does (as if I have to lecture you) is slow the search process down slightly in order to get orders better results in the end. The metric itself has to be right, has to be able to see value in “slower”, lingering users. Even before you’ve done a single experiment, you’ll have to convince people that lightning fast and lucky isn’t always as good as deliberatively slower, and better.

You’re McDonald’s analogy, as you’ve argued in the past, is apt. We already know that slow food is healthier. But health isn’t the metric. Speed is. (See 3. Fast is better than slow: “We may be the only people in the world who can say our goal is to have people leave our homepage as quickly as possible.”)

You’ll just have to convince ’em to change their metric.

Good luck with that! And I really want to hear what you’ve done in order to succeed at that 🙂

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Google’s best decision/acquisition yet. This is for the win. I believe that’s how people say it these days :p I look forward to seeing Google explore their HCIR decisions further – beyond the wonder wheel.

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If that’s the metric that you’ll be judged by, then you will fail — through no fault of your own but because you’re essentially solving a different task.

Ack, I reread what I wrote above, and I think it came across as unintentionally insufferable. Let me try and rephrase:

but my first priority is to establish concrete proof points for HCIR on a web scale.

What I mean to say was that as you work to establish your proof points, it isn’t just a matter of getting the right raw numbers. You have to change hearts and minds about how those numbers should be interpreted, i.e. which numbers matter and which do not. Those value judgments are not intrinsic to the numbers.

Right now, the value judgments of speed and non-engagement/non-interactivity (getting the user off the page) appear to be that filter through which all the numbers are filtered. No matter what data points you show, none will be capable of proving your point until alter that filter.

So you naturally will not be able to talk about the numbers. But if you can, I would be interested in hearing about how you succeed in changing the hearts and minds. If that particular blog conversation is one that you can continue, if that transparency will be possible, I’d love to be a part of that conversation!

And again, congratulations!

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Folks, I’m overwhelmed–it means a lot to have all of your support. And Jeremy, I do appreciate your concerns. I’ll continue to be as transparent as I can. I recognize that will be a challenge–I’ll have to be careful not only about disclosure, but also about how my personal rants reflect on one of the world’s most recognized brands. So I urge everyone to have some patience with me–but not too much. I will really appreciate you all keeping me honest.

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Congrats Daniel and best of luck for your future endeavors at google. My first reaction after reading the post was “What took them (Google) so long?” I just hope you continue blogging about IR and HCIR specifically, which will make noisy community a well-informed and a better place 🙂

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Daniel,

I may be a bit late to the congratulatory party here but I definitely want to join in. I’m thrilled for you and looking forward to benefitting from your contributions on the “big stage”. This is a big win for you as well as Google. Great start to the next chapter.

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Jim, Mark, Drew: thanks for the warm welcome into the Endeca alumni community. The best thing about my decade at Endeca, even more than all of the successes I’ve been a part of, is the network of incredible people I’ve developed during those years. I’m looking forward to maintaining that network, even knowing that I will surely repeat the experience at Google.

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We’re going to miss you at Endeca! Google may think they’re just getting your HCIR brain, but they’re also getting a great deal of passion and joy in the bargain. Best of luck making the web a more usable place for all of us!

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Rob, I’m going to miss you guys too. I’m not exaggerating when I say that Endeca has defined my professionally–and my personal relationships only make the parting more poignant. Hopefully those personal relationships will survive my change of badge.

Also, being an evangelist for HCIR has been easy at Endeca, since HCIR is core to Endeca’s mission. I expect to face greater challenges doing so at Google. But those are the very challenges I’m looking forward to.

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Congrats, Daniel.
I was initally surprised by the news but it does make sense. Ranting about Google’s UI design is now a paid gig rather than just a hobby 🙂
I wish you luck translating your ideas onto the big stage.

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