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Here are posterous posts filed under sergeybrin...

muhh says...

und diese Dinger, solche Aktionen, die tragen dazu bei, dass Google einen sehr sympathischen Touch hat. Ganz ähnlich wie das der Zuckerberg von Facebook macht, aber irgendwie nicht so aufgesetzt.

Achja, dazu diesen Track anhören: http://blip.fm/~gmhya

Filed under: Sergey Brin

Stephen says...

[google]

Author Ken Auletta asks the question whether Google will ever be more than a one-trick pony in a new book on the Internet search giant, Googled: The End of the World as We Know It (Penguin Press, 400 pages, $27.95).

Mr. Auletta says that Steve Balmer, Microsoft's, came up with the expression of Google, but Larry Ellison, Oracle's CEO, added, "But it's one helluva trick."

Advertising dollars continue to abandon traditional media and move to the Internet where Google has about 66% market share of internet search.

Mr. Auletta is an accomplished writer of media. He gained personal access to Co-Presidents Sergey Brin, and Larry Page, both who founded the company, as well as Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO.

Mr. Auletta captures Google's unorthodox management style, all computer scientists, who have defied convention in every way, including the choice to share the top job.

All three must sign off on nearly every major decisionbeing made at Google. This, critics predict, ultimately will stifle creativity, innovation and productivity and lead to a spectacular corporate collapse. For now, it appears to work.

Mr. Brin focuses on engineering and technology. Mr. Page is trained on consumers and products. Mr. Schmidt oversees operations and acts as a coach for the other two.

According to Barron's writer Mark Veverka, the book has two major themes. One might be called "The Inside Story of Google and How It Works;" and the other, "How the Engineers of the Internet Changed Advertising and Media Forever."

Mr. Aulette never answers the question whether Google will ever be more than a one-trick pony, but he does say that Google is capable of diversifying successfully.

Mr. Auletta makes clear that Google has made engineers, not MBAs, the most important employees. The founders created a company that focuses on customers first and is obsessed with making information free to everyone in the most effective way.

Monetization of the idea came well after the co-founders set out to build the best search engine. Google's scientists later invented a pay-per-click advertising concept, called AdWords, which changed the ad game forever.

Co-founder Mr. Page once told Stanford University students that a type of pay-per-click technology, AdSense, was "probably more of an accident than a plan."

Watch an full hour interview with author Ken Auletta on CSPAN's Q&A.

Source.

Filed under: Sergey Brin

Jay says...

(photo courtesy of zazzle.com)

Imagine seeing YOURSELF on the cover of Time Magazine or maybe YOU prefer Fortune Magazine or maybe in a future Joking Gorilla Billionaire List.  It doesn't matter, the important thing is YOU imagine.  Imagine YOU'RE reading about YOUR success and new billionaire status today.

“[Insert YOUR Name Here] is now one of the world's richest individuals.  He/She built an empire covering the whole gamut of the computing industry.  He/She is worth a cool $29 billion.  He/She built an amazing array of cool products that redefined how we use computers, mobile phones and other computing devices...  etcera... etcera...  etcera...”

Now, snap out of it!

This is how YOU did it.

First move, be born to unknown parents.  It might help if YOUR last name is hard to spell, common or unknown.  (Think Gates.  Allen.  Ellison.  Jobs.  Wozniak.  Zuckerberg.  Page.  Brin.).  YOU get the point.

Second move, study until college then drop out.  In the last 50 years, billionaires especially on newly-created industries like computing, software engineering, mobile communications, the Internet, etc. usually dropped out of college to pursue a great idea.  (Gates.  Ellison.  Jobs.  Wozniak.  Zuckerberg.  Page. Brin.).  YOU do need to finish high school though.  We still have to encounter a billionaire who's a high school drop out (If YOU know one, let's hear it!).  This probably means YOU do need to master reading (comprehension), writing and speaking skills as well as knowing a little about history, algebra and physics.

Third, think and pursue a great idea that can change the world.  Now comes the hard part.  It's easy to say this.  It's even easier to put this on a piece of paper and call it a business plan.  But execution is key.  Almost all the new-age billionaires started their startups on their own dime.  They had to invest something themselves first.  The best indicator if YOU have a great idea?  There's none.  If YOU believe in something so strongly and are willing to pursue it then YOU'D probably end up a billionaire.  But that's a BIG IF.  Remember, Edison did fail ten thousand times before perfecting the light bulb mechanism.  And he didn't end up a billionaire but his name will live on forever.  And Col. Sanders did get the door closed on him almost 2,000 times before getting the secret formula right for KFC.  And even Kung Fu Panda had to fail many times before learning the secret of the dragon warrior.

Fourth and the final step, execute with uncanny precision.  Gates hit it big when Microsoft licensed their software program to IBM and built in great functionality (yes guys, at that time Windows was cool and cheap) to it.  Ellison when he got a big contract from the government and by focusing on the server market first.  Jobs when he got fired from Apple.  Sorry, that's not it.  Jobs actually did it in two spades (or is it three?): with Apple, he made an amazing product (Macintosh, others) that the world adored and with Pixar, he built a different kind of movie/animation house.  And with Apple again with the iPod and iPhone.  Larry Page and Sergey Brin did it by creating an amazing search engine they called Google.  Google continues to redefine the marketplace.  Zuckerberg built a site for social interactions – he built a great one, cool functionalities, amazing design and easy sharing of files – photos, videos and links.  Facebook is like the iPhone of social networking – it looks great, YOU can do almost anything with it, and it's not so expensive – it's actually FREE.  Design Matters.  Design in Outlook.  And Design in Process.

Let's recap then:

1 FIRST MOVE, BE BORN TO UNKNOWN PARENTS.  This is so true, it will motivate YOU to become known.
2 SECOND MOVE, DROP OUT OF COLLEGE.  So far, that's how the current billionaires did it.
3 THIRD MOVE, DEVELOP A GAME-CHANGING IDEA.  That will do it.  Provided YOU succeed.
4 FOURTH MOVE, EXECUTE!  Now this is the hardest part, but this is key.

There is in fact a fifth step.  We'll let YOU figure that one out.  There are clues in this article.  But that deserves another post.  We believe Guy Kawasaki has written extensively about that subject.

Let us know what YOU think the fifth step is.  Email it to people.hungry [at] gmail.com.

P.S.

If all else fails, YOU have the following choices (in no particular order):

Marry a billionaire (YOU have to be a really hot!)
Marry into a billionaire's family (YOU have to be smart.)
Marry the ex-billionaire's spouse (Make sure they got at least a billion dollars after the divorce.)
Get YOURSELF adopted by the billionaire or the family (YOU have to be cute!)

Have any other ideas?  Email it to us and we'll post them.

 

Filed under: sergey brin

 

 


In the blissed-out California sunshine, the glistening glass-and-steel curves of the Googleplex seem to sweep you up off the pavement with the promise of a glimpse into the future – and a good time. It is 8am on a Monday morning and battalions of high-tech foot soldiers arrive at the gilded palace of the online revolution. Laptops and lattes in hand, they step off conga lines of biodiesel-powered buses, chatting loud and fast about the latest skyrocketing Silicon Valley start-ups, which have names that sound like Teletubbies: Jajah, Orgoo, Ningo. Geek by geek, they head inside to begin surfing and controlling the quadrillions of bytes of information that surge through Google’s giant servers, and which crash on to our desktops and mobile phones every minute of every day.

 

Read more: http://globalbestpractice.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-300-year-plan.html 

 

Related Articles:

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/history-and-future-of-computer-memory.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-android-steals-show-at-computex.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/homebrewed-cpu-is-beautiful-mess-of.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/us-inquiry-into-hiring-at-high-tech.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/real-time-web-new-prime-time.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/kosmix-tries-to-avoid-google-search.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/technorati-to-launch-twittorati.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/hp-web-connected-printer-no-pc-needed.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/ballmer-all-traditional-content-will-be.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-unveils-sms-service-for-africa.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/china-google-and-pornography.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/yahoo-ceo-stop-comparing-us-to-google.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-attacks-heart-of-microsoft.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-facebook-launch-persian-services.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/is-google-getting-ready-to-enter-ebook.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-they-might-be-little-evil.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-tv-google-hits-upfront.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-to-take-on-amazon-books.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-flipper-is-about-to-jump-out-of.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/went-walkabout-brought-back-google-wave.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/five-reasons-to-be-terrified-of-google.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-vp-on-twitter.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/bing-meaning-but-it-not-google.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/googles-schmidt-rips-microsofts-bing.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/singularity-university-launches.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-wave-could-transform-net.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-adds-new-features-for-bloggers.html


 

 

Tags: PageRank, Global IT News, Global IT and Business News, AdWords, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Eric Schmidt, Marissa Mayer, Craig Silverstein, Stanford, Elliot Schrage, Googleplex, Googleytes, YouTube, Search algorithm,

 

Filed under: Sergey Brin

 

 

In the blissed-out California sunshine, the glistening glass-and-steel curves of the Googleplex seem to sweep you up off the pavement with the promise of a glimpse into the future – and a good time. It is 8am on a Monday morning and battalions of high-tech foot soldiers arrive at the gilded palace of the online revolution. Laptops and lattes in hand, they step off conga lines of biodiesel-powered buses, chatting loud and fast about the latest skyrocketing Silicon Valley start-ups, which have names that sound like Teletubbies: Jajah, Orgoo, Ningo. Geek by geek, they head inside to begin surfing and controlling the quadrillions of bytes of information that surge through Google’s giant servers, and which crash on to our desktops and mobile phones every minute of every day.

Read more: http://globalbestpractice.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-300-year-plan.html 

Related Articles:

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/history-and-future-of-computer-memory.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-android-steals-show-at-computex.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/homebrewed-cpu-is-beautiful-mess-of.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/us-inquiry-into-hiring-at-high-tech.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/real-time-web-new-prime-time.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/kosmix-tries-to-avoid-google-search.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/technorati-to-launch-twittorati.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/hp-web-connected-printer-no-pc-needed.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/ballmer-all-traditional-content-will-be.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-unveils-sms-service-for-africa.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/china-google-and-pornography.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/yahoo-ceo-stop-comparing-us-to-google.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-attacks-heart-of-microsoft.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-facebook-launch-persian-services.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/is-google-getting-ready-to-enter-ebook.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-they-might-be-little-evil.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-tv-google-hits-upfront.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-to-take-on-amazon-books.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-flipper-is-about-to-jump-out-of.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/went-walkabout-brought-back-google-wave.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/five-reasons-to-be-terrified-of-google.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-vp-on-twitter.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/bing-meaning-but-it-not-google.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/googles-schmidt-rips-microsofts-bing.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/singularity-university-launches.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-wave-could-transform-net.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-adds-new-features-for-bloggers.html


Tags: PageRank, Global IT News, Global IT and Business News, AdWords, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Eric Schmidt, Marissa Mayer, Craig Silverstein, Stanford, Elliot Schrage, Googleplex, Googleytes, YouTube, Search algorithm,

 

Filed under: Sergey Brin

 


In the blissed-out California sunshine, the glistening glass-and-steel curves of the Googleplex seem to sweep you up off the pavement with the promise of a glimpse into the future – and a good time. It is 8am on a Monday morning and battalions of high-tech foot soldiers arrive at the gilded palace of the online revolution. Laptops and lattes in hand, they step off conga lines of biodiesel-powered buses, chatting loud and fast about the latest skyrocketing Silicon Valley start-ups, which have names that sound like Teletubbies: Jajah, Orgoo, Ningo. Geek by geek, they head inside to begin surfing and controlling the quadrillions of bytes of information that surge through Google’s giant servers, and which crash on to our desktops and mobile phones every minute of every day.

 

Read more: http://globalbestpractice.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-300-year-plan.html 

 

Related Articles:

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/history-and-future-of-computer-memory.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-android-steals-show-at-computex.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/homebrewed-cpu-is-beautiful-mess-of.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/us-inquiry-into-hiring-at-high-tech.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/real-time-web-new-prime-time.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/kosmix-tries-to-avoid-google-search.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/technorati-to-launch-twittorati.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/hp-web-connected-printer-no-pc-needed.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/ballmer-all-traditional-content-will-be.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-unveils-sms-service-for-africa.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/china-google-and-pornography.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/yahoo-ceo-stop-comparing-us-to-google.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-attacks-heart-of-microsoft.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-facebook-launch-persian-services.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/is-google-getting-ready-to-enter-ebook.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-they-might-be-little-evil.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-tv-google-hits-upfront.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-to-take-on-amazon-books.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-flipper-is-about-to-jump-out-of.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/went-walkabout-brought-back-google-wave.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/five-reasons-to-be-terrified-of-google.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-vp-on-twitter.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/bing-meaning-but-it-not-google.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/googles-schmidt-rips-microsofts-bing.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/singularity-university-launches.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-wave-could-transform-net.html

http://globalitandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-adds-new-features-for-bloggers.html


Tags: PageRank, Global IT News, Global IT and Business News, AdWords, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Eric Schmidt, Marissa Mayer, Craig Silverstein, Stanford, Elliot Schrage, Googleplex, Googleytes, YouTube, Search algorithm,

 

Filed under: Sergey Brin

 

If a friend suggested that you check out an Internet search service called Kosmix, you might start by tapping kosmix.com into your browser — or you might, as the saying goes, just Google it.

 

Read more: http://globalitnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/kosmix-tries-to-avoid-google-search.html 

 

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http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/twitter-search-to-index-pages-and.html

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http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/china-google-and-pornography.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-they-might-be-little-evil.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/wolfram-alpha-has-google-attention.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/26-people-who-mislead-you-on-twitter.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/ballmer-all-traditional-content-will-be.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/rate-of-tweets-per-second-doubles.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-unveils-sms-service-for-africa.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/yahoo-ceo-stop-comparing-us-to-google.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/future-of-facebook-usernames.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/googles-schmidt-rips-microsofts-bing.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/history-and-future-of-computer-memory.html

 

Tags: Kosmix, Google search, Cuil, Bing, Hakia, Library of Alexandria, WEbMD, About.com, Wikipedia, Accel Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Dag Ventures, Time Warner, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Stanford, Venky Harinarayan, Anand Rajaraman,

 

Filed under: Sergey Brin

If a friend suggested that you check out an Internet search service called Kosmix, you might start by tapping kosmix.com into your browser — or you might, as the saying goes, just Google it.

 

 

Read more: 

http://globalitnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/kosmix-tries-to-avoid-google-search.html 

 

 

Related Articles:

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/technorati-to-launch-twittorati.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-unveils-new-search-features.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/twitter-search-to-index-pages-and.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/yahoo-upgrades-search-engine.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/search-sucks-and-microsoft-is-almost.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/searching-for-meaning-of-bing.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/microsoft-must-buy-twitter-msft.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/ballmer-on-bing-economy-and-more.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/china-google-and-pornography.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-they-might-be-little-evil.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/wolfram-alpha-has-google-attention.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/26-people-who-mislead-you-on-twitter.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/ballmer-all-traditional-content-will-be.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/rate-of-tweets-per-second-doubles.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-unveils-sms-service-for-africa.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/yahoo-ceo-stop-comparing-us-to-google.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/future-of-facebook-usernames.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/googles-schmidt-rips-microsofts-bing.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/history-and-future-of-computer-memory.html

 

Tags:

Kosmix, Google search, Cuil, Bing, Hakia, Library of Alexandria, WEbMD, About.com, Wikipedia, Accel Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Dag Ventures, Time Warner, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Stanford, Venky Harinarayan, Anand Rajaraman,

Filed under: Sergey Brin

Stephen says...

23andMe Gets $11M Boost to Decode Your DNA
By Camille Ricketts, VentureBeat.com

23andMe, the company that deciphers consumers’ genomes for them, has raised $11 million of an anticipated $24.26 million second round of capital. The company was cofounded by Anne Wojcicki, wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

The firm didn’t disclose its recent investors, but peHub noted this morning that venture capital firm Mohr Davidow Ventures has just divested from the company. While MDV first acquired shares in 23andMe, it sold them back to the company 18 months ago after deciding to back competitor Navigenics instead, avoiding a potential conflict of interest.

It declined to provide further details on why it chose one company over the other. “I can’t give the specifics of the financial negotiations, but suffice to say that MDV’s financial and management interests were best served by our investment and position in Navigenics,” Pamela Mahoney, a partner at the firm, told VentureBeat.

23andMe and Navigenics provide roughly the same information, but operate somewhat differently. Consumers interested in knowing more about their genetics can order a kit off of 23andMe’s web site for $399.

After spitting in a test tube and mailing it back to the lab, they can view comprehensive information about their genes, disease predispositions and other information via a secure web site.

Results take about six to eight weeks to generate. Navigenics, on the other hand, offers two different packages. The first, for $2,500, provides results of a series of tests for a list of specific health conditions also based on a sample of saliva. It also covers genetic counseling to help clients understand and take action based on their results.

The second package, for $499, provides results of tests and counseling for only 10 common conditions.

Based on this breakdown, it seems that 23andMe is not only more affordable, but also supplies its clients with more holistic information. Navigenics appears to place more emphasis on the medical steps to be taken after the genetic data is delivered, but it’s questionable how many people will actually require or want counseling or diagnostic services after receiving their reports.

It’s unclear why MDV, which specializes partially in personalized medicine, has anointed Navigenics the better bet, but maybe it has something new in store.

23andMe raised its $9 million first round of funding from Google, Genentech and New Enterprise Associates in addition to MDV. It also competes with Icelandic company deCODEme, and Boston-based Knome.

Source.

Filed under: Sergey Brin

Stephen says...

The recession’s damage to Silicon Valley goes beyond falling stock prices and depressed profits. The downturn has renewed attempts to restrict visas for skilled immigrants. If anything, the US should consider slackening its rules instead.

Granting more visas for high-tech immigrant workers, known as H-1Bs, was a hot topic before the economy went into reverse. Now they’re perfect political toast. The US stimulus bill included an amendment forbidding any institution receiving Tarp money from hiring H-1B workers. Senator Chuck Grassley, one of the amendment’s authors, sent a letter to Microsoft telling the company to fire foreign workers before American citizens.

Now Grassley and Senator Dick Durbin want to add further restrictions to the H-1B visa programme. Their legislation aims to limit the number of workers that outsource companies, such as India’s Infosys, bring to the US. If passed, the provision would make it harder for all companies to hire foreign workers.

The legislation would be particularly toxic for Silicon Valley. H-1B visas may be temporary and forbid holders from working in self-employment, but the benefits to the US are still high. A 1% rise in the share of immigrant college graduates in the population increases the total number of new patents by 6%, according to a study by Jennifer Hunt of McGill University and Marjolaine Gauthier-Loiselle of Princeton University. The benefits are long-lasting too. Many visa holders eventually settle permanently in the US, make money and pay lots of taxes.

Indeed, foreign workers found 52% of all technology startups, according to Duke University professor Vivek Wadha. Some of them, or their offspring, have even created giants. Google co-founder Sergey Brin is a native of Russia. Andy Grove, a Hungarian-American, was Intel’s third employee. And Ebay was started by French-born Iranian-American Pierre Omidyar.

If the US wants more Silicon Valley powerhouses, loosening the H-1B rules would be a good place to start. True, only 65,000 visas are issued each year. And hard times reduce immigration, so the damage might not be immediately felt. But placing artificial constraints on the flow of highly educated and skilled workers is short-sighted. When the global economy recovers, the US should want the best minds available to capitalise on it.

Source.

Filed under: Sergey Brin