Have you ever wanted to learn about what goes on inside Google? I know I sure have. The company is famous for the innovative ideas that come from within the minds of its employees. Google has a policy that all employees are allowed to spend 20 percent of their time working on whatever projects fire their imaginations.
As luck would have it, Nat and Lo, a pair of employees from within Google, were curious as well about what goes on at the company they work for. They decided to use their 20 percent time to tour around, learning about the different projects percolating around the company, and have made it into a Web series that just launched on YouTube -- "Nat & Lo's 20% Project," they call it.
In the first episode, Nat and Lo learn about Trekker, Google's portable Street View camera system used to capture locales that the Street View car could never reach. Google has attached Trekker to animals, zip lines, boats, sleds and even people. The pair uncover things that aren't common knowledge, such as the fact that the Trekker backpack weighs 50+ pounds.
Episode two is all about Google[x], which is where projects like the self-driving car are being developed, and they ask the question, How do Google[x] projects get started? Nat and Lo interview Gabby, a Google[x] hardware engineer. They learn all about the "Design Kitchen," where Gabby spends her time. Gabby works on the Rapid Evaluation Team, which comes up with potential future Google[x] projects. Her motto is build fast and break stuff, which seems appropriate for such a job.
Nat & Lo's 20% Project launched today on YouTube, and it looks like it could be a fine way to learn all about what goes on within Google. The pair have opened the floor to questions, so if you want to know something specific about Google, this might be your best chance at an answer.
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