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Facebook nabbing Google employees...Will this make Facebook's UI better?

Facebook is the cool new kid in town. Let's hope it makes an impact on its UI.

Matt Asay Contributing Writer
Matt Asay is a veteran technology columnist who has written for CNET, ReadWrite, and other tech media. Asay has also held a variety of executive roles with leading mobile and big data software companies.
Matt Asay
2 min read

As TechCrunch reports, Google has a new competitor in town, and it's not necessarily about products. It's about employees.

Facebook is apparently pilfering Google employees at a torrid pace. Why? Or, rather, how? Because Google is now considered staid and middle aged, while Facebook offers cool new opportunities. (The stock market begs to differ with this characterization of Google, by the way.)

...Ex-Googler's inside Facebook are saying that the problem goes further than a few high profile exits caused by vesting stock. Facebook just seems a hell of a lot "sexier" than Google (see Rosenstein's exit email). A steady stream of Google employees are making the switch to Facebook, and competition for top college grads is fierce as well.

Senior VPs at Google have dubbed it "the Facebook problem" according to a number of sources. At least ten "top performers" have made the switch over the last two months. Ex-Googler's expect to continue seeing at least two to four more leave for Facebook each month. That doesn't sound like much, but Facebook is targeting the cream of the crop. The best Googler's are being actively recruited, and many are leaving.

Good. Maybe Facebook will get a face lift and get a better, more Google-like user interface. One can only pray....

I'm kidding. (Sort of.) (Not really.) But it is interesting to see a company like Google being characterized as lower on the totem pole than anyone else. Google mints money in its sleep and seemingly lets people work on whatever turns their fancy. Is that not sexy anymore?