Visiting Google & Facebook

Thanks to some excellent ground work by Joe Delfino and Sean Kelleher, Joe, Sean & I were able to make a pilgrimage to Google, Facebook & Reputation.com for a wildly exciting day of briefings with Q&A. While I’d love to share the details, I can’t! Big secret ;-) However, I can share a few pictures and stories from our day in Silicon Valley…

Stu at Google – Take away message: “This was a great meeting!”

Sean at Google – “I could move to California.”

Joe at Google, after spending the week in the Bay Area attending the 2011 Sentiment Symposium, and the Text Analytics News Conference. “I am already (in my mind) living in California and running the west coast operation.”

Stu and his well used Camaro. While running a bit behind schedule on the way to Reputation.com, it is alleged the driver took advantage of the fast moving California 101 freeway, the state’s liberal u-turn policy, certain optional passing strategies based on scenes from action and/or science fiction film, and his passengers stomachs.

Joe at Facebook – Joe Delfino got us this meeting. Joe gets meetings. Joe is a meeting-getting animal. We like Joe.

When my son saw this picture of his Dad at Facebook on Facebook, he said: “Wow Dad; you look really happy!” I sure was happy. We had come from Google feeling deeply engaged by one of the greatest companies in the history of capitalism and we were sitting in the lobby of another. We had lunch with a gracious host at the company cafeteria and a demo with a diverse group of Facebook sentiment analysts. After years of academic presentations, the freedom to present in jeans and a QDAP t-shirt was a perk that I could probably get used to. The meme ‘west coast office’ was heard frequently as we blazed out of Palo Alto and headed for Redwood City.

After the long day in Silicon Valley, the team got stuck in 101 rush-hour traffic, slightly grouchy and despondent, but made it to a wonderful restaurant, Burma Superstar, in the Pacific Heights neighborhood for beer, food, and good company near a place where a Hobbit had been spied. By the time we had returned the Camaro and made it to the train to the SFO terminal for our red eye, we all realized the magnitude of the day we had. It was a huge lift for our confidence and an exciting glimpse into where Texifter is going. It is nearly certain that Texifter will be back on the West Coast soon.