GTalk Is Cheap

You know Google's a different kind of company when the slightest evidence of a slowdown prompts big headlines and feverish speculation about the future of its leaders. First, CEO Eric Schmidt told Bloomberg that the company has decided to (gasp!) reduce its rate of hiring. In fact, the search megalith only added 519 employees to its payroll last quarter, compared with more than 2,000 in the same period a year ago. This news comes on the heels of reports that Google also plans to cut back on the number of outside contract workers it deals with; it currently works with some 10,000 outside associates.

Then comes word that tech geeks aren't terribly pleased with SearchWiki, Google's new effort to let people customize their personal search results and comment on the accuracy of said results with other users. If you employ the SearchWiki option, for example, the search algorithm somehow lets porno spam sneak into some search queries. And if you find that so annoying that you want to opt out of the SearchWiki service and go back to the pure search function? Sorry, you're stuck with it; Google doesn't let users disable the service, for some inexplicable reason. Some have even gone so far as to dub these "rookie mistakes."

"The beauty of Google was its simplicity. A logo, a search bar, and two buttons: Google Search and I'm Feeling Lucky," writes PC World's Brennon Slattery. "Adding unnecessary features only complicates the process and perverts the sole reason of Google Search's existence: to search. The concept is so elementary I cannot understand why Google bothers messing with it."

So let's recap: Google ain't hiring like it used to, and it's got a few bugs to work out in one of its countless product rollouts. What could this mean? Why, CEO Eric Schmidt must be on his way out the door, of course. That's the conclusion of the blog Media, Technology, and Telecom Analyst, based on Google's slowing growth and Schmidt's appearance on The Rachel Maddow Show, during which he talked about the national economy instead of Google. "This leads me to conclude that Eric Schmidt is looking to depart Google in 2009 to assume a role in BAMA's administration," the post wraps up. Honestly, who knew tea leaves were so cheap?

Silicon Alley Insider's Henry Blodget takes the notion one step further, crawling inside Schmidt's head and rummaging around for reasons for him to bail on Google. Schmidt, Blodget concludes, is bored. Google's next growth phase, in which it bloats to Microsoft scales, will be less fun than growing a company from scratch; Google hasn't found the next paradigm-exploding model for search, and the time when it was the coolest thing on earth may be coming to an end; and frankly, solving the world's energy crisis just sounds more interesting. "We would not be surprised to see Eric (or, for that matter, Larry or Sergey) step down from an operating role at Google next year to pursue other interests," Blodget writes.