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null_ptr ◴[] No.6224589[source]
Maybe developers smartened up. If you have a solid idea that Google would benefit from and allow you to work on it in your 20% time, why not quit and do something similar on your own? Google is no longer a cutesy company, they're a corporation like all others, and most employees probably woke up and realized they don't owe it a single thing, let alone their brightest ideas.
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mindcrime ◴[] No.6224635[source]
If you have a solid idea that Google would benefit from and allow you to work on it in your 20% time, why not quit and do something similar on your own?

To be fair, not everybody is interested in running a company, and doing all the "other stuff" that it entails beyond writing code. Also, Google provide great resources and infrastructure, which it would be hard to replicate (assuming the hypothetical project in question required Google scale infrastructure).

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1. null_ptr ◴[] No.6224729[source]
I think that when it comes to an idea one truly believes in, even if one is not inclined towards running a company, one is likely to give it a shot anyway. I'm talking about real passion here. The kind of passion that would cause you to break down if Google were to decide that your 20% time is misused and make you do other things instead, or if your side project took off and was taken away from you.
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2. mindcrime ◴[] No.6224861[source]
I think that when it comes to an idea one truly believes in, even if one is not inclined towards running a company, one is likely to give it a shot anyway.

I can see where that would be true for some people, but I doubt it's universally true. And it may even be that it just makes more sense to do the idea inside Google than doing it independently anyway. Again, look at the resources and infrastructure Google already have assembled.

And some people may have just bought into the Google mission / vision / whatever, and / or just feel a sense of loyalty to GOOG.

Anyway, I don't mean to suggest that it never makes sense to quit and do your own thing. I mean, hell, I probably would, as far as that goes. I'm just saying that there are some legitimate reasons why some people might prefer to just work within Google than quit and run off to start a new business of their own.