Ryan A Graves.com

With Google’s (GOOG) stock price closing today (10/10/2007) at a whopping $630.29, there are many Googlers who are becoming ex-Googlers and cashing in. (I know I would!)  Most recently, as reported on Om Malik’s blog GigaOM , Benjamin Ling became an ex-Googler.  Benjamin Ling was referred to as “the golden boy” by the Google founders and is a considerable loss.  Ling left Google and headed over to the new rival in town, Facebook. 

 This post is less about Ling or Google’s stock than it is about the futures of these ex-”BIG SHOT” firms. 

 The thought/argument is this…Google’s ex’s if you will, will be more successful than the ex-employees of either Microsoft or Yahoo.  The reason is this… Google has so many advantages going for it that these employees were able to experience that the other 2 firms don’t and they will be able to take that experience on with them whether it is to Facebook, or any other 6 vowel start-up.  Google has a company structure, an openness, and a freedom that not many companies are able to embrace. They have the money enough to allow employees to take risks with projects and be very creative (see picture below).

Google knows what’s up. They know what people are looking for out of Web 2.0 open source products and they have the business models to be able to monetize these ideas/creations.  They are ahead of the game and have the financial backing now to support the creativity.  It’s very simple, we are all going after the same thing. Bloggers, Facebook app developers, and open source start-ups alike are looking for users, readers, page views, clicks…the list can go on for a while but it is all the same thing.  Google is developing an enormous group of products that are attracting people and if they are not developing themselves they are making purchases of start-ups that already have mass amounts of users (i.e. Jaiku), and further they are making TONS of cash off of these users.

 If I’m looking to work for someone, then leave, then start my own Web 2.0 gig, I’m applying to Google. Why would I want to join Gates or the other Yahoos?