Why I Don’t Think Dragonfly Would Happen at ITHAKA
Last month, Google announced plans to build a search engine that would comply with Chinese censorship requirements. The project — called Dragonfly — was kept fairly quiet inside the Google organization. Later, we witnessed how revelations of this secrecy and the product itself led to many upset Googlers. And the story has not gone away. There are more revelations this week that shine new light into Google’s culture.
Moments like these force me to reflect on where I work and what our values are. How would ITHAKA, a nonprofit organization that uses technology to expand access to knowledge and education, handle this situation? Would I ever find myself in a similar position as many of those Googlers — who may now be doubting their choice in employer?
Based on my experience working at ITHAKA over the past few years, I don’t think I need to worry. Product transparency is important here, and decisions are based on accessible conversation across all levels of the organization.
I understand this is not by accident. ITHAKA has been deliberate about creating a culture that values and solicits input from everyone. As a member of our User Support Team, I work on the front-lines with the students and faculty who use our academic resource JSTOR. Many members of User Support are on extended product teams or members of various steering committees, providing vehicles for sharing ideas and contributing to decisions. More generally, the product owners and architects who work here are approachable. I feel like my opinion is not only appreciated, but sought out.
This approach has been replicated throughout the organization. Our meetings to define ITHAKA’s values included all employees, and our feedback was earnestly taken into account. Practices such as open question submissions at all-staff meetings encourage discussion and lead to even broader conversations when needed, for example a recent initiative to convene employees from our diverse locations to explore how our office cultures might differ and why in an effort to identify steps we should take to better align where it matters and support distinctions that help us grow and deliver our best work. I do not feel voiceless or left in the dark at ITHAKA. My perspective matters.
Of course, I understand that the situation with Google is complicated and that Google leadership may have felt the need to keep their China project quiet, but I don’t feel like conversations — even about difficult issues like censorship — are taboo at ITHAKA. If there comes a time when we face this kind of scenario, I am confident we will have an honest, open discussion about what to do, with the ultimate goal being to make good on our mission of advancing knowledge and education around the world. Maybe it’s naïve of me to feel this way (no doubt many Googlers felt this confidence before Dragonfly), but I don’t think so.
