Third Thursday Interview: Greg Marsh

June's Third Thursday Interview is with Greg Marsh. Greg is a University Programs Manager with Google, Inc. Keep reading to learn about his thoughts about Google products, what his job entails, and his tips for getting a job with Google!

First word that comes to mind when thinking of Google: Innovative.

First Google product you ever used: Search. I remember when I first heard about Google and all the "cool kids" were using it... Well, never one to follow, I was going to stick to my "Meta-Crawler." Not even sure it still exists... But MetaCrawler billed itself as the searcher of search engines, basically taking all the results of Yahoo, Google (whatever that was), Lycos, and rolling it into one... But soon, the simplicity of Google won me over, and perhaps more importantly, its ability to find you that REALLY obscure webpage no other search engine ever could.

Google products you currently use: Mainly... all of them.

Favorite Google product: Love Street View. I found Street View to be most helpful when my wife and I were relocating from SF to Boston. Everyone has apartment hunted before. Obviously you know there are many sites out there to show you pictures of the apartment, outside and inside, but what's missing is a view of the neighborhood-- what's around you, does it look safe, how does the parking situation look, etc. In comes Street View! So helpful for us to explore our new potential neighborhoods from across the country...

Google product you could live without: That I could live without? Well, Google Buzz consists almost entirely of my Twitter feed...

Google product idea/Favorite Not-So-Googly product: Hmmm, still working on my next big idea for Google, but for now I'll say I love Twitter. Love the ability to for real-time search, and glad that now Google will integrate those results into search. For example, if I hear a bunch of crazy sirens and gun shots going around me in Boston, I can search "gun shots sirens Boston" and find out on Twitter they are currently shooting a Ben Affleck movie in Boston and that it's "only a movie." Also love its ability to make stuff happen. I wait forever for a refund from British Airways with no word-- tweet something nasty about it, and what do you know-- refund comes through... :) Follow me @gmarsh17 by the way... And for student opportunities: @googlestudents (shameless plug).

Message to Googly News' readers: I hope this is helpful and SOMEWHAT interesting. I often tell people I have the greatest job in the world-- and I do. I travel the world talking about a company I love, whose products I love, and try and find the next generation of Googlers to work with people I love... Can it get any better? By the way, we're hiring. So be sure to check out www.google.com/jobs or www.google.com/students if you're job hunting-- and keep checking back-- there's always new things popping up!! After all, this is Google! :)

To keep track of future Third Thursday Interviews and more Googly News, make sure to follow Googly News on Facebook and Twitter.

***Obligatory disclaimer: The views expressed above are Greg Marsh's and not necessarily those of his employer.***

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Third Thursday Interview: Kristen Sosulski

This month's (and the second ever!) Third Thursday Interview is Kristen Sosulski. Kristen is the Academic Director of the NYU-SCPS Office of Distance Learning, and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Digital Communications and Media at NYU. Kristen oversees a team of Google fanatics as her team has been using Google products since she joined NYU in 2005.


First word that comes to mind when thinking of Google: Search.
First Google product you ever used: Google Search, and then Gmail. I've been a Gmail user so long that I actually have to pay for space.
Google products you currently use: Gmail, Docs, Sites, Calendar, Search, Maps, Earth, Blogger, YouTube, Picasa, Voice, Books, News, Buzz, Chat, Translate, Scholar, Latitude... anything they'll give me! I'm excited that my new book just appeared in Google Books! [You can find Kristen's book here!] 
Favorite Google product: It's simple, but I love Google Maps, in particular the current location feature. I'm also a big fan of Google Voice. I love voicemail transcriptions. I hate checking voicemail; a text is so much easier. 
Google product you could live without: Chrome and +1.
Google product idea: Cisco TelePresence. I think Google could figure out a way to make it work well and be totally accessible!
Favorite Not-So-Googly product: Blogshelf. My husband introduced it to me. It's a great way for me to aggregrate my blog feeds on my iPad. I also love my iPhone, but it wouldn't be 90% as powerful to me without Google Maps and Gmail.
Message to Googly News' readers: Googly News is an amazing resource for keeping up with new Google products and the technology/media industry as a whole! Thanks Googly News for all the great news, tips, and updates you've provided the community! [You're certainly welcome! :)]


To keep track of future Third Thursday Interviews and more Googly News, make sure to follow Googly News on Facebook and Twitter.

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Third Thursday Interview: Katie Siegel

Learning about Google products is often easier when it comes from someone else's personal experience, and it's even better when such person is a professional constantly using the latest tech products. For this reason, Googly News brings you "Third Thursday Interview," a monthly posting every third Thursday of the month to bring you even more Googly News from very Googly people.


Googly News' very first "Third Thursday Interview" is Katie Siegel. Katie is manager of SEO/Search at MTV Networks. As a manager, she works with all of MTVN's brands and does reporting/analytics around their SEO efforts. This means sometimes reporting the effects, and other times projecting the outcomes of projects they’re embarking on.


First word that comes to mind when thinking of Google: Omnipresent. Between Google Analytics, Google’s ad network, and their constant crawling, Google is everywhere all the time.
First Google product you ever used: The first Google product I encountered was AdWords, and it was during a guest lecture at Stern. Google was fairly new at that point, so I didn’t know much about their products. I thought it was a fascinating way to generate revenue.
Google products you currently use: From a work perspective, the Google tool I use the most is AdWords (for keyword ideas and market data). For personal use, I find myself using Google Products and Google Maps the most.
Favorite Google product: Though we don’t really use it at MTV Networks, I really like Google Analytics. The interface is great, and it’s so easy to use. You get a lot of really valuable information at no cost.
Google product idea: I don’t have an idea for a specific product, but I would like to see them adopt more microformats for their search results. Microformats are basically result “types” like Places, Products, Media, etc. It allows you to break down your results based on attributes like price, duration, rating, etc. Exactly like the new Recipes product they are beta testing that you [Googly News] wrote about (which I am excited for and did not know about until I read about it on your blog :)). [Katie is referring to this article!]

Favorite Not-So-Googly product: I'm a big fan of Mint.com. It's hard to describe it without coming off as a giant nerd. It aggregates all of your financial data so you can keep track of your spending, create budgets, make savings plans, etc. It's a lot like most Google products: classic, simple design, easy to use, and great information.

To keep track of Third Thursday Interviews and more Googly News, make sure to follow Googly News on Facebook and Twitter.

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