This year marks Google I/O’s 15th anniversary. To celebrate, we’re answering the question “What does I/O mean?”
On April 1, we’re welcoming the public to New York’s newest dining, cultural, and educational destination: Pier 57.
It’s that time again! Google I/O is May 10, and save the dates are out — and this year, we’re giving you a look at how we made them.
Meet Jenny Sun, who is helping drive digital transformation at Google Cloud Greater China.
Meet Rand El Morry, a new Googler who moved from Cairo to Warsaw for his role.
In August 2022, a group of Googlers participated in the third (semi)-annual Arts at Google Pun Competition. They reeled off a cast of fish-themed jokes:
“This category really has me floundering.”
“If you can tune a piano, can you tuna fish?”
“I’m just here for the halibut.”
“Just gonna…perch right here, if that’s OK.”
“I feel like my ears are a little too big, I need to find a plastic sturgeon.”
“That one gave me a haddock.”
Their brains swimming with possibilities, one by one the competitors schooled (and delighted) their fellow Googlers with clever wordplay. The goal was to get the most eyerolls, groans and cheers.
The Google pun competition began in 2017. It grew out of an improv class hosted by Arts at Google, a workplace program to create spaces for Googlers to explore creativity through classes and workshops. Anna Botelho, who’s part of the Real Estate and Workplace team, started Arts at Google as a side project in 2011. “People were looking for ways to take a quick break to reset or re-energize themselves with creative outlets,” says Anna, who majored in music in college. The program grew over the years; today Googlers can, say, join a 90-person orchestra or try bookbinding courses.
There’s also the aforementioned improv class, which inspired the pun competition, both led by Arts at Google program manager Lindsay Alford and extended workforce member Maurissa Afanador. After its debut in 2017, the pun competition returned in 2019 and went on hiatus during 2020 and 2021; August 2022 marked its return.
This year, 16 contestants battled for punny glory in two rounds. In the first, the contestants went up to the mic round robin-style and each had one minute to come up with two fish-related puns. (They didn’t know the round topics beforehand.)
When the first round was up, the audience voted on who moved on by holding up color-coded cards to indicate which two players (who wore colored lanyards) should advance. Four punsters progressed to the second and final round; those who were eliminated joined the audience.
The final round, Maurissa (who also hosts the competition) says, is always “where it gets really impressive.” This time, the audience didn’t judge — the final four participants simply punned and punned and punned until they could pun no more. “They went until exhaustion,” Maurissa says. The round continued for nearly 30 minutes, with the last two participants punning back and forth for the final five.
The second-round topic was flowers. Neil Hendin, this year’s winner, describes himself as “cognitively exhausted” by the end of the contest. “I’m going to credit my wife for the win, because her name is IdaRose and she’s an avid gardener,” says Neil, a Bay Area-based hardware engineering manager. Doing well in the pun competition is about riffing on the fly but also having a backlog of information to work from, he says: “In my head, I was walking around our garden, remembering names of flowers.” His favorite of his puns from the round? “I made an AI to generate flower names. I call it ‘hiya-synth.’”
The pun competition and the improv class that sparked it have an impact beyond a trophy and bragging rights. Tyler Sellmayer, a Google engineer based in the Bay Area and 2022 pun competition participant, was able to lean on two punny friends for coaching. “They do puns all the time, and they would destroy me, they would make hundreds and hundreds of them and it would never end,” he says. But in trying to keep up with them, it worked the “pun” muscle. Soon enough, Tyler found himself on stage at the 2019 pun competition — which he went on to win.
“Doing something as silly as making puns, saying things that get eyerolls but also cheers, it’s very validating,” Tyler says. “It shows me that I don’t have to walk on eggshells all the time, I don’t have to carefully measure everything I say.” That realization has been monumental — his time as the contest’s champ was just the pun-derful cherry on top.
Maria Running Fisher Jones first learned about balancing checking accounts and filing taxes at age 7 — thanks to her primary school teacher. Though finance didn’t end up being her calling in life, education has been a consistent theme throughout her career. She first studied education, even earning her master’s degree, but ended up finding a home in law.
Now as senior corporate counsel in Google Cloud, Maria also takes time to partner with Googlers and people in her community to raise awareness of issues that are impacting Indigenous communities in the United States, like the one she grew up in, and expand opportunities for Indigenous-owned businesses. I chatted with Maria over Google Meet to hear her story and learn about how education has always been a cornerstone in her life.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I was raised by a single mother on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Northwestern Montana, a community struggling with a 69% unemployment rate. The estimated poverty rate of Native Americans living on reservations is nearly double the national average and the highest in the country.
My family saw education as a way to lift ourselves and our community — a way to learn and gain access to connections to give back. My mother ingrained the value of education in me deeply: I vividly remember a time when she wouldn’t allow me to participate in a basketball game because my grades had slipped. Even worse, my mother made me tell my coach and teammates the reason I was to miss the game. It’s those life lessons that have brought me to where I am today.
The more I learned about the tech industry, the more I discovered how much it could be used for good.
How did you get into law?
I didn’t initially anticipate practicing law as a career. Entering college, I was set on a degree in education with a plan to teach high-school English, thanks to the influence of my primary school teachers.
While studying for my master’s in education, I became particularly interested in educational disparities, like why are some children afforded a better education and more resources than others? I began researching laws to educate myself and started to realize that a law degree could help me affect positive change. In some sense, I really fell into a law degree by virtue of following my passions and natural curiosity.
What shaped your interest in tech?
Technology, its importance and impact in the world, wasn’t something I spent much time thinking about while in Montana. Instead of video conferences and emails, I was picking up the phone to connect through a landline or showing up to have a cup of coffee.
But the more I learned about the tech industry, the more I discovered how much it could be used for good. I saw how this was the future and how it could connect my family and community to opportunities in a more equitable way. It’s why I participated in a Wi-Fi connectivity project with GAIN, Google’s Aboriginal and Indigenous Employee Resource Group. It’s how I found the ability to connect my education degrees to tech law. At Google, I’ve been able to do both.
How do you connect your work at Google to the causes you care about?
Giving back and engaging in community is critical in my life. Leaving the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana is still something that pains me to this day. Leaving family has always been a challenge for me, but sharing my culture and raising awareness on issues facing Indigenous people has filled the void of missing home. Since joining Google, I’ve had the opportunity to provide awareness through various channels, including a Talks at Google interview with activist Kimberly Loring HeavyRunner and a Careers on Air virtual event celebrating Google’s Aboriginal and Indigenous communities.
Native Forward, the U.S.’s largest scholarship program for Native students with more than 16,000 recipients from over 500 Tribes, provided the funding to support my law school education. Recently, I was part of a group of Googlers who reviewed its scholarship applications, and I donate monthly via our internal platform that allows for company matching.
In addition to the work I do at Google, I also started a company, TPMOCS, in 2014, specializing in handcrafting children’s moccasins. We employ Native American artisans in rural communities and give a portion of profits to organizations on reservations supporting children in need.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
During a trip back home to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, I spent time with family and elders, and had a traditional naming ceremony for my children. I also had time to reflect on my life choices. Some, if given the chance, I would do over, but one that I’ve never second guessed is joining Google. As I speak at events, I’d like Indigeous youth and young professionals to know that you too can pursue a career in tech and still remain true to yourself. Representation matters and working at Google provides me with a platform to highlight interests and issues close to my heart. Google welcomes our voices.
Maria Running Fisher Jones first learned about balancing checking accounts and filing taxes at age 7 — thanks to her primary school teacher. Though finance didn’t end up being her calling in life, education has been a consistent theme throughout her career. She first studied education, even earning her master’s degree, but ended up finding a home in law.
Now as senior corporate counsel in Google Cloud, Maria also takes time to partner with Googlers and people in her community to raise awareness of issues that are impacting Indigenous communities in the United States, like the one she grew up in, and expand opportunities for Indigenous-owned businesses. I chatted with Maria over Google Meet to hear her story and learn about how education has always been a cornerstone in her life.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I was raised by a single mother on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Northwestern Montana, a community struggling with a 69% unemployment rate. The estimated poverty rate of Native Americans living on reservations is nearly double the national average and the highest in the country.
My family saw education as a way to lift ourselves and our community — a way to learn and gain access to connections to give back. My mother ingrained the value of education in me deeply: I vividly remember a time when she wouldn’t allow me to participate in a basketball game because my grades had slipped. Even worse, my mother made me tell my coach and teammates the reason I was to miss the game. It’s those life lessons that have brought me to where I am today.
The more I learned about the tech industry, the more I discovered how much it could be used for good.
How did you get into law?
I didn’t initially anticipate practicing law as a career. Entering college, I was set on a degree in education with a plan to teach high-school English, thanks to the influence of my primary school teachers.
While studying for my master’s in education, I became particularly interested in educational disparities, like why are some children afforded a better education and more resources than others? I began researching laws to educate myself and started to realize that a law degree could help me affect positive change. In some sense, I really fell into a law degree by virtue of following my passions and natural curiosity.
What shaped your interest in tech?
Technology, its importance and impact in the world, wasn’t something I spent much time thinking about while in Montana. Instead of video conferences and emails, I was picking up the phone to connect through a landline or showing up to have a cup of coffee.
But the more I learned about the tech industry, the more I discovered how much it could be used for good. I saw how this was the future and how it could connect my family and community to opportunities in a more equitable way. It’s why I participated in a Wi-Fi connectivity project with GAIN, Google’s Aboriginal and Indigenous Employee Resource Group. It’s how I found the ability to connect my education degrees to tech law. At Google, I’ve been able to do both.
How do you connect your work at Google to the causes you care about?
Giving back and engaging in community is critical in my life. Leaving the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana is still something that pains me to this day. Leaving family has always been a challenge for me, but sharing my culture and raising awareness on issues facing Indigenous people has filled the void of missing home. Since joining Google, I’ve had the opportunity to provide awareness through various channels, including a Talks at Google interview with activist Kimberly Loring HeavyRunner and a Careers on Air virtual event celebrating Google’s Aboriginal and Indigenous communities.
Native Forward, the U.S.’s largest scholarship program for Native students with more than 16,000 recipients from over 500 Tribes, provided the funding to support my law school education. Recently, I was part of a group of Googlers who reviewed its scholarship applications, and I donate monthly via our internal platform that allows for company matching.
In addition to the work I do at Google, I also started a company, TPMOCS, in 2014, specializing in handcrafting children’s moccasins. We employ Native American artisans in rural communities and give a portion of profits to organizations on reservations supporting children in need.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
During a trip back home to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, I spent time with family and elders, and had a traditional naming ceremony for my children. I also had time to reflect on my life choices. Some, if given the chance, I would do over, but one that I’ve never second guessed is joining Google. As I speak at events, I’d like Indigeous youth and young professionals to know that you too can pursue a career in tech and still remain true to yourself. Representation matters and working at Google provides me with a platform to highlight interests and issues close to my heart. Google welcomes our voices.
Welcome to the latest edition of “My Path to Google,” where we talk to Googlers, interns and alumni about how they got to Google, what their roles are like and even some tips on how to prepare for interviews.
Today’s post is all about Sameer Sethi, a lead technical program manager on our Responsible AI team.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I was born and raised in a Punjabi family in Delhi, India. Growing up, my parents were my role models and the biggest pillars in my life. My passions are trying different foods and drinks and exploring the world with my wife, who I met while traveling.
Walk us through your path to Google.
After completing my Bachelor’s of Engineering in Dublin, I worked as a software engineer at various telecom companies in Ireland. Afterwards, I moved back to India to help take care of my father and ended up opening an Indo-European bakery. While I enjoyed running a small business (especially one dedicated to my love of food), I still wanted to find an outlet for my engineering skills and use them to create a positive impact. So I got my master’s degree in engineering and ventured back into the tech world as a product manager.
I partnered with Google on a project during that time, and having seen my work firsthand, my Google colleagues encouraged me to apply for an open position in Google Fiber. The role tapped into my passion for data engineering, and I could make a difference by helping to provide fast, reliable and fairly priced internet access to everyone. So I applied and got the job.
What’s your role at Google now?
Now, I’m a lead technical program manager on Google’s Responsible AI team. I work with researchers, ethicists and machine learning practitioners to help Google build responsible AI products guided by our AI Principles and the societal impacts of our work.
What do you wish you’d known when you started the interview process?
I read about Google’s interview process online and got the impression that it would be a nerve-racking experience. To my surprise, however, it was quite the opposite. While the interviews definitely required a lot of preparation, all of the interviewers were very friendly, and the process is designed to make you feel comfortable and help you do your best. Looking back, I would have been much less nervous knowing that the interviewers were friendly and there to help me succeed.
What resources would you recommend to prepare for a Google interview?
I’d suggest reading about the hiring process and checking out the Life at Google YouTube channel to hear directly from Googlers about what it’s like to work here, and how to best prepare to apply or interview. And remember, your recruiter is your best ally so take their recommendations. They know the Google hiring process inside out.
Any tips you’d like to share with aspiring Googlers?
I’ll second what many other Googlers have said: Always strive for your best, prepare well and understand that the interviewers are there to help you succeed. Don’t lose hope, and never stop dreaming.
As a software engineer at Google, Daniele Midi spends most of his time working on developing smart home products. But every week he also sets aside time to help Googlers learn something new from a surprising classroom: the bathroom. Daniele is the editor-in-chief of Learning on the Loo (LotL), a volunteer-driven series of one-page lessons that show up in Google bathrooms in every office across the globe. The “episodes," as they're called, hang inside each restroom and cover subjects from productivity tips for Gmail to avoiding bias in decision making.
The ultimate mission of LotL is to improve Googlers’ lives at work. Daniele first got involved as an intern in 2015, helping with distributing new episodes in his office. Soon after, he joined the small editorial team, and eventually stepped up to lead it. Today, LotL releases new episodes twice a month, on topics that deal with productivity, career and personal development.
LotL launched in 2007 and drew inspiration from Testing on the Toilet (TotT), another Google institution, but a more tailored one. TotT began after a group of Googlers wanted to get input on how engineers could write better tests to ensure their code was working. One of those Googlers somewhat jokingly suggested posting tips about writing better tests in bathrooms. The idea caught on. Today, engineer Andrew Trenk heads up TotT, which now covers topics like coding best practices in addition to testing.
TotT and LotL have a few things in common — for instance, the length. “A challenge is often getting everything to fit on one page,” Andrew says. “This also happens to be what makes the content so useful: Authors are forced to limit themselves to only their most critical points.” And like TotT, LotL aims to be actionable, with quick tips Googlers can use right away.
One example episode: “Effective meetings,” published May 17, 2022, written by Oded Niv. This episode shares tips for what to do and why, both before the meeting starts (“set a prioritized list of goals and activities”) and during the meeting (“politely keep the focus on the agenda”).
An episode titled “Are you writing clearly?” was published August 2, 2022, and written by Nancy Fann-Im. Tips include “Less is more,” “Write like you speak” and “Be direct.” “Even executives appreciate brevity over jargon,” Nancy writes.
All Googlers can submit LotL episode ideas via a form that asks things like whether their lesson is applicable to Googlers everywhere and what the takeaways are. It also includes the note that at least one image or meme is required. Daniele and his team of three other Googlers read through the submissions. Once they accept a proposal, the author or authors work on the one-page copy, edited by the LotL team.
“I think people would be surprised at the level of scrutiny each episode goes through,” Daniele says. LotL even began an open editing group, so any Googler can give suggestions on upcoming episodes via Google Docs. “It’s particularly helpful to get feedback on whether a lesson makes sense globally,” Daniele explains. “Local office culture in the U.S., for example, is different from office culture in Korea.”
Once the LotL team finalizes an episode, they send it to a cadre of Googler volunteers and local facilities teams across the globe who print and distribute it. (Each LotL is also available online and via email for Googlers.) From submission to launch day, the process takes a minimum of three to four weeks.
Like so much about work, LotL had to evolve once the pandemic started. When people began working from home in 2020, LotL went entirely digital, and the content shifted. LotL proposals focusing on everything from at-home office setup to coping with the ongoing stress of the COVID-19 pandemic poured in. “It was a challenging time, for sure, but it was really wonderful to see how many Googlers wanted to share ideas to help each other, too,” Daniele says.
Learning on the Loo remains a source of common ground for Googlers everywhere — and according to Daniele, it’s one that receives an encouraging amount of positive attention. “We recently added a short feedback form to our site,” Daniele says. “People will drop us emails that say, ‘Hey, I loved this, thank you so much!’ I just think that’s really, really cool.”