Google Creators Interviewed by Playboy

Cristiano wrote in to say that an interview with the creators of Google is appearing in the latest Playboy Magazine. That in and of itself is of little note, until one realizes that the issue of Playboy in question is already en route to subscribers and hits newsstands tomorrow, the same day that their IPO auction begins. News.com.com speculates that the SEC may be interested, since this could be a breach of the "quiet period" companies must endure before going public. It may also be nothing but a mistake in scheduling, but it has cast doubts on Google's IPO for some.

Comments

Methinks they don't want to go public.

[Anonymous Coward]

All the controversy just make more people hear about Google.

It's been said before (by VCs in my last startup) that an IPO is three things:

1. A funding event (which they don't need), and
2. A PR event (which is always welcome)

In the meeting they said that, I voluteered that it's also a liquidation event; but they suggested that that doesn't matter to anyone important.

Google's IPO is a PR event more than anything; and if this adds controversy, that just makes for better PR.

Interview from April

[otisg]

Note that this interview was done in April - before they filed for IPO.... maybe that makes it a little less difficult for them.

before the jokes start....

[Anonymous Coward]

best interview with kurt vonnegut ever is his one in playboy--yes, i DID read it for the article. interestingly, i hear they let him make up most of the questions himself.

I'm not investing

[antikarma]

Are they trying to commit corporate suicide? First they "may have" issued 23 million shares of stock to their own employees illegally and now they "may have" breached the quiet period. Do they even know what they're doing?

GooglePorn on the way

[anandpur]

googleporn.com

Booble

[Ilan Volow]

Given the nature of the magazine, I have to wonder whether interviewer will bring up the inevitable Booble controversy.

Playboy has interviews?

[Anonymous Coward]

Playboy has interviews?

I just buy it for the hot nude women...

Re:This isn't necessarily against SEC rules!

[GoofyBoy]

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B 3FA7194E%2D79F9%2D4398%2DB541%2DFB46D3E92111%7D&si teid=mktw

"And, even if the founders spoke only about their outside interests beyond Google, the SEC may consider the interview a violation of the quiet period, he said."

Stirring up trouble

[digitaltraveller]

This could just be someone on Wall Street stirring up trouble for Google.

There have been a few articles in the trade press about Wall Street being pissed off at (horror) being treated like normal people and missing out on the customary level of graft that accompanies high profile IPO's.

Microsoft is also working behind the scenes to try and throttle their IPO success. (Remember Microsoft's recent news portal unveiling)?

Larry and Sergey get alot of props though from both computer geeks (for linux) and financial nerds (for following Warren Buffett's advice).

I think the IPO is going to go well.

When He Wasn't Looking for Oil...

[BrianMarshall]

J. Paul Getty wrote a number of articles for Playboy - apparently as a way to unwind.

Wall Street trying to torpedo Google IPO?

[Suchetha]

submitted and rejected today:

Business 2.0 is running a column that speculates that the negative publicity surrounding the Google IPO may be part of a Wall Street campaign to stop more companies from using the Dutch Auction system and bypassing the banks. It quotes such people as Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com , who relates what happened to them when they decided to follow the dutch auction method for their IPO.

Suchetha