I don't know what I should and shouldn't say because of the NDA, but it's probably okay to say I'm married to a Googler. He hasn't been there too long, but the only problem we've had so far is that he never seems to want to come home!

Seriously, though, I've seen a lot of articles that might be labeled "sour grapes" about Google lately. (Not to imply that yours is one of them - you made an effort to support your conclusions and it does sound as though you know some unhappy people, which is unfortunate.) The thing is, I've seen my husband go through jobs at other corporations. I've waited up for him on the nights when he was forced to work overtime on a doomed project. I've been there for him while he struggled under the tyranny of dangerously ignorant management. I've seen him waste weeks of his time because of thoughtless and fruitless penny-pinching. He started out so bright, so full of energy and zest for what he does, and over time I watched that energy and passion wilt under buzzing florescent lights in suffocating cubicles.

Corporate life in general is terribly depressing. I personally hate it and work independently. I love what I do and at least this way no one can take my enthusiasm away from me.

But that's exactly why I think what Google is doing is terribly important. More companies need to be that way. They need to be families who treat their employees like children - they take care of them. They reward them for their hard work. They encourage them to be creative, because they know (and you know, too) that it only takes one good idea to make a million dollars. Or a billion. Or an empire.