Something of which I could not take much advantage once I moved to a different building were the @Google Talks held almost every day on the Google campus. This is truly one of the best perks the company offers--exposure to great thinkers, experts, and all-around amazing people you would normally have to be attending a university to maybe, perhaps, if you're lucky, get to see.
I'm not sharing this to rub it in your faces--I was sad about leaving the company if it meant I wouldn't be able to see these talks anymore. BUT, to my delight, I discovered that most @Google Talks are posted, in their entirety, right on YouTube. You can find the full listing of talks here.
Some of the most amazing people I saw in person were:
- Jane Goodall: the woman who works with chimps, not the Gorillas in the Mist woman. She was by far my favorite. Such an interesting and inspiring talk!
- Al Gore: he gave his 'An Inconvenient Truth' lecture
- Will.I.Am: he produced part of a song right in front of our eyes, on his laptop!
- Neil Gaiman: the fantasy/science fiction writer. Got a signed copy of Fragile Things!
- Hillary Clinton
- Christian Lander, the guy who writes Stuff White People Like