2004 Founders’s Letters to Alphabet Shareholders

2004 Founders’s Letters to Alphabet Shareholders


Google was born in 1998. If it were a person, it would have started elementary school late last summer (around August 19), and today it would have just about finished the first grade.  
谷歌诞生于1998年。如果它是一个人,它会在去年夏末(大约8月19日)开始上小学,而今天它刚刚结束一年级。

Of course companies are not people. Among other obvious differences, they must be responsible and selfsufficient at a very early age. But a long perspective, like that of a human lifespan, is useful in assessing yearby-year developments. While it may seem that we have come far already, this is just the beginning of a lifetime.  
当然,公司不是人。除了其他明显的差异之外,它们必须在非常早的阶段就变得负责任和自给自足。但像人类寿命那样的长远视角对于评估逐年的发展非常有用。虽然看起来我们已经取得了不少成就,但这只是漫长历程的开始。
Warning
时间和平常心之间没什么关系,平常心不是通过时间上的成长获得的。
And while Google is not a single person, it does embody the effort, ability, and commitment of thousands of individuals. Together we strive toward a common mission: to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. This is an infinitely large task for a long-term company.  
虽然谷歌不是一个人,但它确实体现了成千上万人的努力、能力和承诺。我们共同致力于实现一个共同的使命:组织世界信息,使之普遍可访问且有用。对于一家长期经营的公司来说,这是一个无限宏大的任务。

Last year, Larry discussed the principles of our work toward this goal in his letter that we included in the prospectus for our initial public offering. In this letter, I will update you on our progress over the past year, our team, and where we are headed in the future.  
去年,拉里在我们首次公开募股招股说明书中附上的信中讨论了我们为实现这一目标所遵循的原则。在这封信中,我将向您汇报我们过去一年的进展、我们的团队以及我们未来的发展方向。

345 DAYS  

345天

It is hard to believe less than a year has passed since our last letter, given how much has happened. We made some big strides toward making more web information nearly instantly available. But just as important, we branched out to make a growing array of media forms and information types more accessible and, hopefully, more useful to people all around the world.  
考虑到发生了这么多事情,真难以相信自上次信件以来还不到一年。我们在使更多网页信息几乎即时可用方面迈出了重大步伐。同样重要的是,我们还拓展了领域,使越来越多的媒体形式和信息类型更易于获取,并希望能对全球人们更加有用。

Here are some of the highlights:  
以下是一些亮点:

8 billion pages. In web search alone, we doubled the size of our index over the past year. Now, users can search over 8 billion web pages and experience greater relevance. We have simultaneously worked to ensure that users encounter less spam or other interference.  
80亿个网页。仅在网络搜索方面,我们在过去一年中就将索引规模翻了一番。现在,用户可以搜索超过80亿个网页,并获得更高的相关性。同时,我们也努力确保用户接触到的垃圾信息或其他干扰更少。

More local information:  
更多本地信息:

Google Maps. Released early this year, Google Maps is an original interface to maps on the web, letting people plot routes, get directions, and find businesses on a map intuitively and in a flash.  
Google Maps。谷歌地图于今年早些时候发布,是一种全新的网络地图界面,让人们可以直观且迅速地规划路线、获取导航,并在地图上查找商家。

Keyhole. Our acquisition of this geographic information search pioneer brings to Google users a stunning digital mapping tool. Keyhole lets people view 3D images of any place on Earth, including a rich database of roads, businesses and many other points of interest.  
Keyhole。我们收购了这家地理信息搜索先驱,为谷歌用户带来了一款惊艳的数字地图工具。Keyhole让人们可以查看地球上任何地方的3D图像,包括丰富的道路、商家以及其他众多兴趣点的数据。

Google SMS. Often when people need information they’re not at a desktop computer. But they can use their cell phone to send a text message to GOOGL (46645) with a query and zip code to get local results in that area.  
Google SMS。通常当人们需要信息时,他们并不在台式电脑前。但他们可以使用手机向GOOGL(46645)发送带有查询和邮政编码的短信,以获取该地区的本地结果。

But not all information that matters to people is on the web. Much of it resides in different media - in books, on television, or on their hard drives. So we launched projects addressing each:
并非所有对人们重要的信息都在网络上。它们大多存在于不同的媒介中——书籍、电视或存储在硬盘上。因此,我们启动了针对各类信息的项目:

Google Print. Announced late last year, Google Print seeks to digitize and make searchable the wealth of the world’s knowledge that is in the form of books. We have programs to work with both publishers and libraries to digitize their collections, including those at Stanford, Harvard, Oxford, the University of Michigan, and the New York Public Library.
Google Print。去年底宣布的Google Print旨在将以书籍形式呈现的世界知识财富数字化并实现可搜索。我们开展了与出版社和图书馆合作的项目,对它们的馆藏进行数字化,包括斯坦福、哈佛、牛津、密歇根大学和纽约公共图书馆的藏书。

Google Scholar. This service applies the power of link and citation analysis to scholarly research. With Google Scholar, researchers, students, professors, and others can find relevant information drawn from literature such as peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts, and technical reports.
Google Scholar。这项服务将链接和引用分析的力量应用于学术研究。借助Google Scholar,研究人员、学生、教授及其他人可以从同行评审论文、学位论文、书籍、预印本、摘要和技术报告等文献中找到相关信息。

Google Video. The preview release of Google Video demonstrated how searching television can work: People can search the content of TV programs, find programs containing the content they’re looking for, and discover where and when the program next airs.
Google Video。Google Video的预览版展示了如何搜索电视内容:人们可以搜索电视节目内容,找到包含所需信息的节目,并了解该节目下一次播出的时间和地点。

Google Desktop Search. Why should it be easier to search the web than it is to search for the information on your own hard drive? Google Desktop Search lets people search their own computer for files, MP3s, web history, and more, just as easily as they can search on Google.
Google Desktop Search。为什么搜索网络比搜索自己硬盘上的信息更容易?Google Desktop Search让人们能够像在Google上搜索一样轻松地在自己电脑上搜索文件、MP3、网页历史记录等内容。

Online communications have become pervasive in people’s lives - so pervasive, in fact, that people often don’t even think of it as information. As a result, we’ve begun developing products that improve the ways people can talk to each other - and share ideas and experiences - online.
网络通讯已深入人们的生活——实际上如此普遍,以至于人们往往不把它视为信息。因此,我们开始开发能够改善人们在线交流、分享想法和体验的产品。

Gmail. I am writing this document using Gmail, our innovative web mail service. It provides people with a huge amount of storage (1 gigabyte per account, free) and fast, Google-style search through their mail.
Gmail。我正在使用Gmail撰写此文档,这是一项我们创新的网络邮件服务。它为用户提供大量存储空间(每个账户1GB,免费)以及快速的谷歌风格邮件搜索功能。

Picasa. With the acquisition of Picasa, we can help people manage their visual information in digital photographs. We released a much improved version of Picasa, and with Gmail integration, have started the work of making it easy for people to share photographs with family and friends.
Picasa。通过收购Picasa,我们可以帮助人们管理数码照片中的视觉信息。我们推出了改进版的Picasa,并结合Gmail整合,开始让人们更便捷地与家人和朋友分享照片。

Blogger. Blogging is about personal expression and the freedom to share ideas. This year we completely redesigned Blogger and introduced powerful features like comments and rich-text editing. In doing so, we’ve made it quicker and easier than ever for people to share their thoughts online.
Blogger。博客是关于个人表达和自由分享思想。今年我们对Blogger进行了全面重设计,并引入了评论和富文本编辑等强大功能。这样,人们可以比以往更快、更轻松地在线分享他们的想法。

We also launched a number of improvements to our AdWords and AdSense programs to make it easier and more rewarding for both advertisers and publishers to participate in the increasing use of commercial information online. Notably, we have focused on improving our ads quality, which increases ads relevance for users, and clickthrough rates for our advertisers and publishers.
我们还对AdWords和AdSense项目进行了多项改进,使广告主和发布商更容易、更有收益地参与到不断增长的在线商业信息使用中。值得注意的是,我们专注于提高广告质量,从而提升用户对广告的相关性以及广告主和发布商的点击率。

Highlights for advertisers included:
广告主的亮点包括:

Smart pricing, which automatically adjusts the price paid for clicks from the Google content network based on our estimates of the value of the clicks.
智能定价,根据我们对点击价值的估算,自动调整来自谷歌内容网络点击的费用。

Image ads, which enable advertisers to use graphical ad formats, instead of simply plain text, on Google’s content network.
图片广告,使广告主能够在谷歌内容网络上使用图形广告格式,而不仅仅是纯文本。

AdWords API and a collection of campaign management tools, which make it simpler and more efficient for advertisers and third parties to track and modify their ad campaigns.
AdWords API及一系列广告活动管理工具,使广告主和第三方能够更简单、更高效地跟踪和修改他们的广告活动。

Highlights for publishers include:
发布商的亮点包括:

The expansion of AdSense for content (in which we serve AdWords ads targeted to content on a publisher’s site) to 10 new languages.
AdSense for content的扩展(我们向发布商网站上的内容定向展示AdWords广告)扩展至10种新语言。

The launch of AdSense for search (in which publishers can sign up online and offer Google search and related advertising on their site) in 21 new languages.
AdSense for search的推出(发布商可在线注册,在其网站上提供谷歌搜索及相关广告)支持21种新语言。

New ad formats and improved reporting tools which give publishers greater monetization opportunities and more precise tracking.
新的广告格式和改进的报告工具,为发布商提供了更大的盈利机会和更精确的追踪能力。

We also made it affordable for organizations of any size to provide search as good as Google across their public websites and intranets. In 2005, we launched the Google Mini search appliance, which embeds Google search technology on a hardware platform.
我们还使各类组织能够以低成本在其公共网站和内部网中提供与谷歌同样优质的搜索服务。2005年,我们推出了Google Mini搜索设备,将谷歌搜索技术嵌入硬件平台中。

70-20-10

70-20-10

Noting the number and range of these new offerings, some observers have wondered whether Google should focus more on its core - web search - because distractions from non-core services have previously led search engine companies astray. Others have asserted that we are a “one-trick pony,” too reliant on web search, and that we need to diversify.
鉴于这些新产品的数量和种类,一些观察者怀疑谷歌是否应该更多地关注其核心——网络搜索,因为非核心服务的干扰曾使搜索引擎公司偏离正轨。另一些人则认为我们是“一招鲜”,过于依赖网络搜索,需要实现多元化。

Let me clarify our strategy in this regard: We have decided that we need balance among core and expanded services. Larry and I use a rule called 70-20-10. Seventy percent of our effort goes to our core: our web search engine and our advertising network. These products still are the largest contributors to the financial health of the company. {Comscore Media Metrix (October 2004) reports that our advertising network, which includes thousands of content sites, sites that use Google search, and Google properties, reaches 80% of Internet users.} But incremental resources have diminishing returns in almost any undertaking, so it is not desirable to put all your resources on the core product. That’s why we allocate 20 percent for adjacent areas such as Gmail and Google Desktop Search. The remaining 10 percent is saved for anything else, giving us the freedom to innovate. This is the logic behind our weighted balance.
让我来阐明我们在这方面的战略:我们决定在核心和扩展服务之间取得平衡。拉里和我采用一种称为70-20-10的规则。70%的努力用于核心——我们的网络搜索引擎和广告网络。这些产品仍是公司财务健康状况的最大贡献者。{Comscore Media Metrix(2004年10月)报告指出,我们的广告网络覆盖了包括成千上万个内容网站、使用谷歌搜索的网站以及谷歌自有网站在内的80%的互联网用户。}但在几乎任何领域,增量资源的回报都在递减,因此不宜将所有资源都投入核心产品。这就是我们为相邻领域(如Gmail和Google Desktop Search)分配20%的原因,其余10%则预留用于其他任何领域,从而给予我们创新的自由。这就是我们加权平衡背后的逻辑。

Larry, Eric, and I are proud to be at a company which delivers new products so quickly - and at such a high quality. But we’re even more proud that so many people tell us that these products improve their lives.
拉里、埃里克和我为能在一家如此迅速且高质量地推出新产品的公司工作而感到自豪。但更令我们骄傲的是,许多人告诉我们这些产品改善了他们的生活。

The team that built it

打造这一切的团队

Since we started Google, Larry and I have cared deeply about the people we hire and how we can find and attract the most qualified applicants. We then strive to empower and reward our employees from their first day at Google.
自从创立谷歌以来,拉里和我一直非常重视我们所招聘的人才,以及如何寻找并吸引最有资格的申请者。我们随后努力在谷歌的第一天就赋予员工权力并给予奖励。

And those first days can be in many places. We have offices in 12 countries, and we’ve also begun building out research and development centers in Zurich, Bangalore, and Tokyo. To date, we have built a great team, growing from 2,000 to more than 3,000 in the past year alone.
而这些“第一天”可以发生在许多地方。我们在12个国家设有办公室,并且已经开始在苏黎世、班加罗尔和东京建设研发中心。截至目前,我们已经建立了一支优秀的团队,仅在过去一年中员工数量就从2000人增长到3000多人。

In this process, we have been careful to avoid hiring people who would not be good contributors at Google the ‘false positives.’ But we have paid less attention to avoiding ‘false negatives.’ Perhaps we have focused too sharply on certain technical skills. I am sure there have been many people who would have excelled at Google, but whom we failed to hire.
在这一过程中,我们一直小心翼翼地避免雇用那些不适合在谷歌做出贡献的“误报”人员,但对于避免“漏掉”人才的关注则较少。也许我们过于关注某些技术技能。我确信有许多人本可以在谷歌表现出色,但我们却未能聘用。

As we continue to grow and start to saturate certain specialties within geographic areas where we are based, we will redouble our efforts to identify and hire the most qualified candidates. Choosing the best people is a fundamental challenge for every company, but it is not a proven science. Nonetheless, we are committed to making Google a natural home for a diverse group of the most talented people in our industry, and we’ll continue to work towards that goal.
随着我们不断成长,并开始在所在区域内的某些专业领域趋于饱和,我们将加倍努力,甄选和招聘最有资格的候选人。选择最佳人才是每个公司面临的基本挑战,但这并非一门成熟的科学。尽管如此,我们致力于使谷歌成为业内各类最有才华人才的理想之家,并将继续朝着这一目标努力。

We believe we have created a work environment that attracts exceptional people. We know that people value meaning in their work; they want to be involved with things that are important and that are going to make a difference. That is what we let them do at Google. We give them autonomy by structuring projects around small teams.
我们相信,我们已经创造出一种能吸引卓越人才的工作环境。我们知道人们看重工作中的意义;他们希望参与那些重要且能产生影响的事物。这正是我们在谷歌所提供的。我们通过将项目构建成小团队的方式给予他们自主权。

Our huge computational resources and business resources allow those teams to build great products and also empower individuals to create and test their own ideas.
我们庞大的计算资源和业务资源使这些团队能够构建出优秀产品,并赋予个人创造和测试自己想法的能力。

Google employees have “20 percent time” - effectively one day per week - in which they are free to pursue projects they are passionate about and think will benefit Google. The results of this creative effort already include products such as Google News, Google Suggest, and Orkut - products which might otherwise have taken an entire start-up company to create and launch.
谷歌员工享有“20%时间”——实际上每周一天,他们可以自由追求自己热衷并认为能惠及谷歌的项目。这种创造性努力的成果已包括Google News、Google Suggest和Orkut等产品——这些产品在其他情况下可能需要整个初创公司才能创造并推出。

We have never forgotten since our start-up days that great things happen more frequently within the right culture and environment. So we offer Googlers a generous host of benefits - such as an on-site doctor and two fresh meals a day - as part of our efforts to keep Google a motivating, healthy, and productive place.
自从创业之初,我们就未曾忘记,在正确的文化和环境中,伟大的事情更频繁地发生。因此,我们为谷歌员工提供了丰厚的福利——例如现场医生和每天两顿新鲜餐食——以此努力保持谷歌成为一个充满激励、健康且高效的工作场所。

Compensation that rewards contribution

奖励贡献的薪酬体系

It’s also why we are committed to rewarding employees fairly, commensurate with their contribution. We have instituted a number of incentives throughout the years, such as encouraging peers to recommend each other for company bonuses. But as we have grown into a larger, public company, we have recognized that our compensation system must evolve. Beyond simply addressing the accounting treatment of options and other equity incentives, it must ensure that compensation is fair, offers good performance incentive, and facilitates hiring and retention.
这也是我们致力于按员工贡献公平奖励他们的原因。多年来,我们制定了许多激励措施,例如鼓励同事之间相互推荐以获得公司奖金。但随着我们成长为一家更大、更公开的公司,我们认识到薪酬体系必须不断进化。不仅仅是解决期权和其他股权激励的会计处理问题,它还必须确保薪酬公平、提供良好的绩效激励,并便于招聘和留人。

We believe strongly in being generous with our greatest contributors. In too many companies, people who do great things are not justly rewarded.1 Sometimes, this is because profit-sharing is so broad that any one person’s reward gets averaged out with the rewards of everyone else. Other times, it’s because contributions are simply not recognized. But we intend to be different. That is why we developed the Founders’ Award program over the past quarter.
我们坚信应当对那些最大贡献者给予丰厚奖励。在许多公司中,做出巨大贡献的人往往得不到应有的奖励。¹ 有时,这是因为利润分成范围过于广泛,导致个人奖励与他人奖励平均化;有时,则是因为贡献没有得到认可。但我们打算有所不同。这就是为什么在过去一个季度中我们开发了创始人奖计划。

The Founders’ Award is designed to give extraordinary rewards for extraordinary team accomplishments. While there’s no single yardstick for measuring achievement, a general rule of thumb is that the team accomplished something that created tremendous value for Google. The awards pay out in the form of Google Stock Units (GSUs) that vest over time.2 Team members receive awards based on their level of involvement and contribution, and the largest awards to individuals can reach several million dollars.
创始人奖旨在为团队取得的非凡成就提供非凡奖励。虽然没有单一标准来衡量成就,但一般的经验法则是:团队完成了为谷歌创造巨大价值的事情。奖励以谷歌股票单位(GSUs)的形式发放,并随着时间归属。² 团队成员根据他们的参与程度和贡献获得奖励,个人获得的最高奖励可达数百万美元。
Warning
一开始没有想明白的标准,即使几十年后也是想不明白的。
To date, Larry and I have given out two such awards for a total of about $12 million. We are currently planning to make two to three additional awards of similar size for recent work. Like a small start-up, Google will provide substantial upside to our employees based on their accomplishments. But unlike a start-up, we provide a platform and an opportunity to make those accomplishments much more likely to occur.
迄今为止,拉里和我已经发放了两次此类奖励,总额约为1200万美元。我们目前计划对近期工作再颁发两到三个规模相似的奖励。像一家小型初创公司一样,谷歌会根据员工的成就为他们提供可观的回报。但与初创公司不同,我们提供了一个平台和机会,使这些成就更有可能实现。

Extraordinary contributions are not the only area where our compensation practices have evolved. We have also put in place a new long-term incentive program to complement our traditional stock option plan. We believe that our previous compensation practices could expose new hires to market volatility that is not related to their individual performance or contribution. Under our revised program, newly hired employees will still receive some traditional-style stock options. But a significant component of their hiring grant will come in the form of GSUs.2 The actual number of GSUs any employee receives in any year is adjusted, based on the individual performance of the employee and on their option strike price relative to other employees who started at about the same time. We believe this approach accomplishes two important goals: it significantly reduces distortions based on the volatility of the initial strike price, and it provides a better incentive by more directly tying reward to performance.
非凡贡献并非是我们薪酬实践演变的唯一领域。我们还推出了一项新的长期激励计划,以补充传统的股票期权计划。我们认为,以前的薪酬做法可能会使新员工面临与其个人表现或贡献无关的市场波动风险。在修订后的计划下,新入职员工仍将获得部分传统风格的股票期权,但他们的聘用奖励中将有一大部分以GSUs形式发放。² 每位员工每年获得的GSUs数量都会根据其个人表现以及其期权执行价与同期入职的其他员工的情况进行调整。我们相信这种方法达成了两个重要目标:它显著减少了由于初始执行价波动带来的扭曲,并通过更直接地将奖励与表现挂钩提供了更好的激励。

Look for us to continue exploring novel ideas in benefits, compensation, and culture. Our goal is to build a company characterized not only by success and innovation, but also by the highest levels of integrity and fairness in our dealings with one another.
请期待我们继续探索福利、薪酬和企业文化方面的新思路。我们的目标是打造一家不仅以成功和创新著称,而且在彼此交往中展现最高诚信和公平水平的公司。

Our homework

我们的作业

Next year, Larry and I hope to report as much progress as we have had over the past year. Here are some of the areas in which we hope to advance:
明年,拉里和我希望能汇报与过去一年同样多的进展。以下是我们希望取得进步的部分领域:

More information: Currently, our index covers only a fraction of the world’s information, and new information is being created at an extraordinary pace every day.3 We aim to greatly expand the scope of what’s searchable, making more and different types of information readily accessible.
更多信息:目前,我们的索引仅覆盖了世界信息的一小部分,每天都有大量新信息以惊人的速度产生。³ 我们的目标是大幅扩展可搜索内容的范围,使更多、不同类型的信息易于获取。

More mature products: Many of our latest products are in various test stages. In the coming year, we expect to see them develop further, graduate from Google Labs, and move from beta into more general availability.
更成熟的产品:我们许多最新产品正处于不同的测试阶段。来年,我们预计它们将进一步发展,从Google Labs毕业,并从测试版转为更广泛的普及版。

The W-W in WWW

万维网中的W-W

Google has always been a globally-available service, by virtue of the nature of the internet. And today, we strive to be a globally-useful service and a truly global company. Google search is available in over 100 interface languages on 112 international domains. We offer 41 different language interfaces for our AdWords product, and 21 for AdSense. We have offices in 12 countries.
谷歌一直是一项全球可用的服务,这得益于互联网的本质。而如今,我们力求成为一项全球有用的服务和真正的全球性公司。谷歌搜索在112个国际域名上提供超过100种界面语言。我们的AdWords产品提供41种不同语言的界面,AdSense提供21种。我们在12个国家设有办公室。

But we have far to go. We need to make more of our products and services, not just Google’s core search and ad products, available in more countries and languages. We need to figure out how to overcome certain technological challenges: for example, it’s hard to offer a useful map product in countries where many places remain essentially unmapped. This is even harder in countries that do not have computers.
但我们还有很长的路要走。我们需要使更多产品和服务——不仅仅是谷歌的核心搜索和广告产品——在更多国家和语言中可用。我们还需要找到克服某些技术挑战的方法:例如,在许多地区基本上没有地图数据的国家,很难提供实用的地图产品。在缺乏计算机的国家,这一问题更为艰巨。

Google.org

Google.org

We are aware of the challenges that are even more fundamental, such as: how to help people access water, clothing, and shelter, let alone information. In a direct sense such challenges are beyond the reach of even the most ambitious information-technology company. But our actions in areas of our competence and expertise are guided by an awareness of how much needs to be done to create opportunities for people in all countries of the world.
我们意识到,还有一些更根本的挑战,比如:如何帮助人们获得水、衣物和住所,更不用说信息了。从直接意义上讲,这些挑战超出了即使是最雄心勃勃的信息技术公司的能力范围。但在我们擅长的领域中,我们的行动是基于对全世界各国人民需要创造机遇这一事实的深刻认识。

In last year’s Founder’s Letter, we made a commitment to set up a non-profit arm, called the Google Foundation, which we hope to be a lasting symbol of Google’s values. As we said then, we hope that someday this institution will eclipse Google itself in overall world impact by ambitiously applying innovation and significant resources to the largest of the world’s problems. We are grateful to have had the opportunity in the past year to brainstorm with some of the world’s most dedicated and talented philanthropists and social entrepreneurs. We realize that the resources we have in mind, while large for a corporate foundation, are nonetheless small compared with offerings from governments and many non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This only increases our determination to find original ways to extend our assets, so that we can drive scalable, sustainable efforts. We have always been good at using our resources creatively; Larry and I started Google using Lego™ blocks. Thankfully, we now have more to offer, but the underlying principle is the same: Never stop looking for ways to do the best with what you have.
在去年的创始人信函中,我们承诺成立一个非营利机构,名为Google Foundation,我们希望它能成为谷歌价值观的持久象征。正如当时所说,我们希望有朝一日,这个机构能凭借其雄心勃勃地将创新和大量资源应用于解决世界上最大的问题,而在整体世界影响力上超过谷歌本身。过去一年,我们有幸与一些世界上最敬业、最有才华的慈善家和社会企业家进行头脑风暴,我们对此深表感激。我们意识到,我们计划投入的资源虽然对于企业基金会来说已属不小,但与政府和许多非政府组织(NGO)的投入相比仍然微不足道。这只会增强我们寻找原创方式以扩展资产,从而推动可扩展、可持续努力的决心。我们一直善于创造性地利用资源;拉里和我当初就是用乐高积木创办了谷歌。幸运的是,我们现在有更多资源可用,但基本原则依然相同:永远不要停止寻找以现有资源做到最好的方法。

As a result, we believe we need to go beyond the traditional definition of a foundation and combine a variety of approaches - investing in socially progressive companies, making targeted philanthropic donations, influencing public policy, and more. We have therefore chosen to change the Google Foundation name and adopt the broader name Google.org. We are currently working on staffing as well as defining the goals, priorities, and principles of Google.org. We hope to have a lot more to share with you on this front by next year.
因此,我们认为需要超越传统基金会的定义,结合多种方式——投资于社会进步型公司、进行有针对性的慈善捐赠、影响公共政策等。因此,我们选择将Google Foundation更名为更广泛的Google.org。我们目前正在进行人员配置,并明确Google.org的目标、优先事项和原则。希望明年能在这方面与大家分享更多内容。

In the past year, we’ve learned a lot about how to run a company like Google, how to attract the best people, and how to arrange our efforts for the best result.
在过去的一年中,我们学到了许多关于如何经营像谷歌这样的公司、如何吸引最优秀的人才以及如何组织我们的努力以取得最佳成果的经验。

But all credit, of course, goes to our fellow Googlers. Throughout a year full of potential distractions, you demonstrated unwavering focus on the work at hand, dedication to our mission, and often soaring vision. We are honored to work with you.
当然,所有的功劳归功于我们的谷歌同事。在充满各种潜在干扰的一年中,你们对手头工作展现出坚定不移的专注,对我们的使命充满奉献,并常常展现出远大的愿景。与大家共事,我们深感荣幸.

****************************************

If Google were a person, it would graduate from high school in 2016. Given a typical life span, it would expect to be around for almost a century - or more, thanks to continual innovations in healthcare technology. Today, it would only have seen a glimmer of its full potential.
如果谷歌是一个人,它将在2016年高中毕业。按照典型寿命计算,它预计能存在近一个世纪——甚至更久,这得益于医疗技术的不断创新。而今天,它仅仅窥见了自身全部潜力的一角。

We’re just getting started.
我们才刚刚开始。

Larry Page Signature
Larry Page

Sergei B signature
Sergey Brin

1 Often noted is the case of Shuji Nakamura. The inventor of the blue LED received a bonus of around $200, while his company retained rights to the patent. Last year, he reached a legal settlement with his employer for $8M.
¹ 常被提及的例子是中村修二的案例。这位蓝光LED的发明者获得了大约200美元的奖金,而他的公司保留了专利权。去年,他与雇主达成了800万美元的法律和解。

2 A Google Stock Unit (GSU) is a contractual promise made by the company to an employee to issue a specific number of shares to that employee at some future date, after they are vested. Unlike an option, which gives an employee the right to purchase a share at a given time for a set price, GSUs are already shares.
² 谷歌股票单位(GSU)是公司对员工作出的合同承诺,在未来某一日期(归属后)向该员工发行特定数量的股票。与期权不同,期权赋予员工在特定时间以固定价格购买股票的权利,而GSU则直接代表股票。

3 “How Much Information is There?” by Peter Lyman and Hal Varian, 2003.
³ 彼得·莱曼和哈尔·瓦里安的《有多少信息?》,2003年。

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