Last week I started my new job at Google. I’ve been kind of mum about the specifics here (and it felt really awkward to not answer the question when asked directly, my apologies for the clumsily dodge.) I wanted to hold off on sharing the news because I wasn’t sure what changes I would need to make to my blog. I didn’t want to guess incorrectly and land myself in hot water before even starting.

I have always viewed my blog as a chance to grow my ‘brand’, a sort of social complement to my online resume. I hope to grow my reputation through my blog and as such I often write about the internet which has on occasion included my views on search. My dissertation and past publications are all on personalized search. Clearly this research was done outside the scope my Google employment and should be fair game to write about. On the other hand, Google is also interested in Search and if I post something related to my prior research it’s possible someone might misinterpreted the post as relating to Google’s research. To be clear I have never, and will never, discussed the details of my work in my blog, it’s the appearance of doing so that I want to avoid. For now, I will have to content myself with the ability to put ‘google’ on my resume for search expertise cred, and avoid blogging on the topic.

As an aside I hope my blog isn’t branded as a ‘googler’s blog’, just as I hoped it wasn’t branded a ‘mommy’s blog’. I am a Googler, I am a mom, but I’m also a budding photographer, math nerd, science junkie, bargain hunter, etc.

Another issue is that I use Google Ad Sense. I’ve written about it in the past, and had some fun playing with the numbers. I personally find the topic of blogging revenue fascinating, and I had hopped to continue writing on the topic since there are so few detailed articles on the subject out there. Alas, this area is now obviously off limits for me.

It’s a worthwhile trade for full time employment doing what I love. I can tell I’m really going to enjoy this next stage of life, if I can ever get around to unpacking those darn boxes!

Posted in Internet & Technology, Work Life | Tags: Milestones, Website