Social Kapital Joel Postman

The recent news that brand stalwart Procter and Gamble and ultra hipster Google have collaborated in a convergence of “old meets new” made me laugh. OK, sure, Google is known for, as the WSJ points out, company-provided scooters in the hallways and for giving engineers lots of room to create great things, like the recently shut down Lively.

But the problem with applied hipness is that once it becomes part of company culture, it ain’t hip anymore, no matter what company adopts it. As Bill Lumbergh said, “Next Friday… is Hawaiian shirt day. So, you know, if you want to, go ahead and wear a Hawaiian shirt and jeans.”

Google is a publicly held company with the same pressures and same behaviors as any other. Watch the movie The Corporation. The premise is that the publicly held company, if it were a person, would be a clinically diagnosed psychopath. Google has not been without its share of psychopathic behavior. (China?)

God love Google. They’ve introduced some killer technology that has changed the way people live and work. Credit due. But let’s not idolize them too much.