Googleplex Meetup Feb 15-17, 2020

Meet-ups
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Hi everyone! I will be in San Francisco Feb 15-17 & figured I might as well make the drive to Silicon Valley to see Google! I have done a bit of research & know that without a personal escort, there is no way to get the in depth tour of campus. Does anyone know if there is perhaps a way to seek out Googlers open to meeting strangers to give a tour during their lunch break? Of course their time is extremely valuable & lunch is often when we want to decompress, however if there are any willing to take me for a tour I would be most grateful!

–or–

If there are any Local Guides in the bay area like @KarenVChin I would LOVE to meet up!

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@Crystal_P Its a big plan but my afraid is there any way?

Looking forward to seeing some best answers here.

Thank you

Shafiul

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I think they don’t permit it. But, see if any Google Moderator answers it. @Crystal_P

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The question has been raised several times, @Crystal_P , and the answer was always no.

You can access to the public areas, like the Google store and the android statues, but not other places. Google is a company, and the people is there at work.

Even Connect Live was held on a public area.

So I’m afraid the answer will be no again

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@ErmesT Thank you for your input as it seems you are pretty annoyed by this question. :slightly_smiling_face: We are all just excited to see the campus as it would be a dream come true. I completely understand Google is a business & people are at work. My question, however, is not outlandish as there are plenty of companies of various sizes that offer tours for a fee. Being that Google is such a global entity, one would think or at least hope that in 2019 there would be some sort of tour set up by now given the high popularity of not only Local Guides, but the general population as well. Have a wonderful day!

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Hi @Crystal_P , I do apologize if I gave you the perception that I am annoyed by your question. I have been invited to Connect Live in the last three years, and to be able to enter inside and visit the “real” Google was one of my dreams.

A dream that I still have, as the attendees can only enter in the public areas plus, of course, the event center. We were able to enter in the reception of “Google cloud” but no way to enter inside, even if we were accompanied by more than 100 Googlers

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Hi @Crystal_P ,. Visiting San Francisco and the Bay Area in general is always a great place to see, eat, photograph, drink, and eat again.

As @ErmesT mentioned, visiting the Googleplex is pretty much open to just two public areas:

You can walk around and see Rex the dinosaur and the latest Android Statue - Oreo - near the Cafeteria. The campus itself is big, like a college campus. It is spread out in Mountain View, CA (where Googleplex is located).

You can take CalTrain from SF and get off the Mountain View train station If you don’t have access to a car. you just have to walk over US101 to Shoreline. It is about a 20 minute walk.

The Googlers who work on Local Guides are not located on the Mountain View campus. As Ermes said, after attending Local Guides conferences, for me, the last 4 years, I have only seen what he has mentioned and on,y this year the Google Event Center on the Sunnyvale campus.

During our free time, were only allowed to walk around the outside and just look at the buildings.

With all high tech companies in the Valley, one needs to know someone and even that one most likely just gets to see just the outside of buildings or just the public areas. Everything is badge access only and ONLY if you are working on that particular project.

At Facebook, you can only stand outside and take a picture of the Facebook sign. For Apple, you can only see the model in the Apple Store in Cupertino— Apple will not allow you on their campus.

As for me, looking at my calendar for February, I am booked out for the time you are coming out here mid February. = (

If you need any assistance in helping or need SF Bay Area sightseeing ideas, please feel free to tag me,

Cheers,

Karen

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@KarenVChin I super appreciate the tips! Thanks for weighing in & hopefully one day our paths will cross :slightly_smiling_face:

All the Best!