Another Reason for Google's Rule

Kevin Coughlin wrote a piece for Newhouse news service sunday about Google's special blend of young and old employees, that has propelled them to the top of the internet, and pushed their stock up in the $300 range. Rob Pike is one stand-out who was profiled. "Google treats employees like college students because they were recently," Pike says. "That's weird. But it's better than being treated as a geriatric." Working with brainiac kids keeps him sharp. To keep up physically, he bikes 100 miles a week.

Google has become a magnet for technology's best and brightest minds. They are coming from NASA, MIT, and Berkeley, wrote Coughlin. "Here you can have an idea on Monday," says Pike, "and have it on the web site by the end of the week."