Facebook Hires Google 'Moonshot' Exec For R&D (usatoday.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Facebook on Wednesday said it has hired Regina Dugan to head a search-and-product-development group considered vital to Facebook's 10-year technology road map. In the past, Dugan helped shape such Google initiatives as Project Tango, Project Ara, and smart fabrics wired with electronics. Dugan will lead Building 8, a new group "focused on building new hardware products to advance our mission of connecting the world," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a comment posted on his Facebook profile today. Zuckerberg's 10-year vision for the company relies on major technological breakthroughs on three main fronts: artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, and bringing Internet access to the 4 billion or so people who don't have it. "I'm excited to have Regina apply DARPA-style breakthrough development at the intersection of science and products to our mission," Zuckerberg said. "This method is characterized by aggressive, fixed timelines, extensive use of partnerships with universities, small and large businesses, and clear objectives for shipping products at scale."

Comments

Re:Spoilers on road map

[50000BTU_barbecue]

It's insulting to compare this software wankery to the Moonshot.

Re:Hire to appease the SJWs

[CrankyFool]

And in today's list of "things straight white men in tech never have to worry about," we have entry #285: You never have to worry that either you're being promoted or hired because of your gender/orientation/ethnicity, or that others will think that's the reason for your promotion/hiring.

Execs don't matter that much

[no1nose]

Everywhere I have worked, it is the everyday engineers, Programmers and regular hard-worker guys who develop the things that add value to a company. Execs are just there to soak up the money at the top so we don't get too cocky down below.

Re:Execs don't matter that much

[Dutch Gun]

IMO, the best managers or execs are the ones who do two things:

* Set a clear direction for the company, so that everyone in the organization understands exactly where they need to go and what they need to do to get there.
* Enable workers to do their job without them having to overly worry about money, politics, regulations, or other distractions.

I know it's popular to hate on execs, but without good leadership and a smart strategy, a company is ultimately doomed, regardless of the quality of its work force. There have been many notable examples when a single executive has been able to turn an entire company around.

Stop using "moonshot"

[reemul]

I really wish folks would stop using "moonshot" or anything related as a metaphor for an open-ended research project leading to an unknown answer. Getting to the moon wasn't *easy* - which is why the world can still be broken down into nations that use metric, and nations that have walked on the moon - but ultimately it was a straightforward ballistics problem.

Re:Stop using "moonshot"

[NotInHere]

I didn't know that Myanmar or Liberia have walked on the moon. Very interesting.

Re:Ara is dead

[tom229]

My thoughts exactly. I wouldn't hire anyone from Google today. 5 or 10 years ago I might have, but the current staff has been on a mission to make every single product and service they have more bloated, less free, and less functional than it used to be. And they've succeeded. Maps, gmail, Android, you name it. The only exception might be the actual search engine.