Inside the Googleplex: A Day at Geo Developers Conference with Miami Beach 411

I visited the Googleplex yesterday for the Geo Developers Conference. Google invited me because of the work we’re doing with our map mashups. When I arrived, I was totally surprised to see a giant poster of Miam Beach 411 featured in a gallery of sites—they were highlighting. I felt like a proud dad.

Google is by far the coolest workplace I’ve ever seen. I would not hesitate to pause what I’m doing and work there. Some of the perks they offer their employees include:

• Micro kitchens every 100 feet stocked with snacks and goodies
• Two cafeterias (No Name Cafe & Pacific Cafe) serving free gourmet food
• Fitness center and sand volleyball court
• Endless swimming pool with a lifeguard on duty
• Massage therapy, pool tables, and foosball
• T-shirt cabinets filled with free schwag
• Laundry facilities and electric scooters for zipping around campus
• Employees can bring dogs to work, dress comfortably, and follow an 80/20 rule to spend 20% of their time on personal projects

The Geo Developers Day began with a tour of the Google campus. In the lobby, search queries currently being entered were projected onto the wall. I also saw a giant whiteboard labeled “Google’s Master Plan”, covered with ideas from employees—one even read “Levitation”, which our tour guide warned us not to take literally. The walls were decorated with toys, lava lamps, and employee photos, making the space feel fun and creative.

After the tour, we enjoyed a delicious lunch in the courtyard before moving inside for presentations on the latest Google Maps and Google Earth features.

I was blown away when Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, along with CEO Eric Schmidt, entered the room. Our tour guide mentioned that despite working at Google for a year, she had only seen Sergey and Larry once before—this was a big day.

It was inspiring to be around the Google team. Just like Walt Disney Company hires employees focused on customer service, Google surrounds itself with smart people who believe in the company’s “do no evil” philosophy. During the conference, there were no sarcastic remarks or eye-rolling at difficult questions; the presenters were genuinely engaged and excited to hear feedback.

After the conference, we enjoyed a reception and dinner with live jazz. It was fun to see a Google engineer step away from coding to follow the 80/20 rule and jam with the band.

Visiting the Googleplex felt like stepping into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. I met some great people, including Mike Pegg from Gmaps Mania, Simon Marshall from the British Columbia Travel Group, John Coryat from Maps.Huge.info, and Rajesh Ramanand from FedEx.

Thank you to Google and the Maps team for hosting such an amazing and memorable day.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on June 13, 2006 and updated in 2026.