In the Plex: 8 key ideas
The core ideas of In the Plex, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.
- IDEA 1 OF 8
Two students built a search engine
Levy describes how Larry Page and Sergey Brin, graduate students at Stanford, created a better way to search the web.
Their PageRank method ranked pages by how many other pages linked to them, treating links like votes.
- IDEA 2 OF 8
Google built an engineering culture
Levy describes Google's culture, where engineers had great influence and were encouraged to work on ambitious projects.
Data guided decisions. In Levy's account, the founders trusted talented engineers to follow their own ideas and measured many choices with numbers and tests.
- IDEA 3 OF 8
Don't be evil guided values
Google adopted the motto don't be evil, expressing its desire to act ethically.
Levy explores how the company tried to live up to it. In Levy's account, the phrase set a high standard for the company, and employees sometimes used it to challenge its decisions.
- IDEA 4 OF 8
Advertising funded everything
Levy describes how Google developed AdWords, an advertising system based on search keywords.
It became enormously profitable. In Levy's account, this idea paid for the company's other projects, so Google could try new things without charging users for search.
- IDEA 5 OF 8
New products expanded Google
Levy describes products like Gmail, Maps and Android.
Google grew far beyond search. In Levy's account, these new services brought Google into the daily lives of many more people around the world.
- IDEA 6 OF 8
China posed a dilemma
Levy describes Google's difficult decision to operate in China under censorship, and its later withdrawal.
Values and business clashed. In Levy's account, the company had to weigh its wish to reach many users against its own principles on free information.
- IDEA 7 OF 8
Privacy became a concern
As Google collected more data, concerns about privacy grew.
Levy describes debates inside and outside the company. In Levy's account, the company had to ask how much information it should store and use, and what people would accept.
- IDEA 8 OF 8
Success brought challenges
Levy shows how Google's size brought new challenges, such as competition and regulation.
Staying innovative became harder. In Levy's account, a large company has more people to coordinate and more outside attention, which can slow down new ideas.
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