Innovation smackdown: Google vs. Meetup.com

A sign of the times that Google is starting to carry around some of that “technology monolith” baggage usually reserved for the likes of Microsoft or AT&T: Scott Heiferman, the CEO and founder of Meetup.com, has put together a hilarious side-by-side comparison of office life at both Google and Meetup. Google may still be an innovation powerhouse, but the company’s increased size, scale and ambition is making it an increasingly easy target for the new generation of fast, nimble start-ups.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Heiferman makes it clear that Meetup HQ in New York is a more interesting place to ply your 9-to-5 trade:

“At Google, you need not ever interact with non-Googlers, and Google

        encourages Googler cross-breeding to spawn future Googlers. Product

        decisions are made only via sterile electronic A-B testing… At Meetup, you occasionally drop in on a local Meetup, listen to how it’s helping people, and invite the Organizer to the monthly Organizer Lunch at Meetup HQ. We decide what we do by listening to our communities, rigorous research and testing, and leading with creative instinct.”

[image: Googleplex vs. Meetup HQ]