Larry Page Just Wants You to Love Google Again
Marking his year anniversary as Google CEO, Larry Page sent out a love-filled memo to the Internet this afternoon, in which he tries really hard to get us to fall in love with Google again. When we say love-filled we mean it quite literally. The CEO used the word "love" seven times in his 3,459 word "2012 Update from the CEO." His emphasis on that four letter word leads us to believe Page has noticed some of the bad blood he may have created over the last year and he wants to win users hearts back with lines like, "We have always wanted Google to be a company that is deserving of great love." He also writes, "But we recognize this is an ambitious goal because most large companies are not well-loved, or even seemingly set up with that in mind." And, statements like:
All that said, we recognize that we don’t get everything right—and that the changes we make, like our recent visual refresh, can initially upset some users (even if they later come to love them). But we don’t operate in a static industry, and technology changes so fast that we need to innovate and iterate. Of course, when we do make mistakes we try to fix them as quickly as possible and, if necessary, change the way we do things to prevent problems from arising again. And we work hard to explain what we are doing—and why—because with size comes responsibility.
Actually, throughout the memo we see the types of apologies a lover makes to a hurt partner. We promise, it's [Google+] not as bad as it looks. Or, Sorry we haven't been ourselves lately -- that type of thing. Is this enough for you to forgive Google? Read the full note on Google's Investor Relations page and decide for yourself if you feel the love.
