Dare -- I think this really misses the point of 20% time. It isn't that structured. More than anything it is license to experiment and use the tools and infrastructure for cool unplanned stuff. From where I sit, 20% time is still very much alive. - Joe Beda ()

I wish that hadn't come out so anti-20%. 20% time is actually a really good and important idea. Gmail just isn't a valid example of something that started in that way. AdSense (content targeted ads) is though, and it makes billions of dollars! - Paul Buchheit

I don't think I made a story out of nothing, Chris. In fact I heard quite a bit of "background chatter" about 20% time not being exactly the fairy tale it's portrayed to be, as well as lots of people working way too much overtime, which ridicules the core of 20% (because then your 20% might as well be called your "spare time"). In my opinion, Google Inc had made a "story" out of it -- and upon seeing the record set straight by Paul for one instance (the ad video and a press release), I emphasized that record-straight-setting, making the "20%" *less* of a "story", not more. Not to say my post didn't suck, perhaps it did, I leave that to you to decide, but these were my thoughts. Also, as you may see there's an update where I tried to balance Paul's earlier comment with more comments by Paul and others, as more positive statements had emerged. - Philipp Lenssen