>Gmail wasn't a 20%, I don't know why anyone thinks it is.
It's because some media stories used GMail as an example of a 20% project -- and -- those stories also end up being cited in places like Wikipedia:
- >Google is credited for popularizing the practice that 20 percent of an employee's time may be used for side projects. At Google, this led to the development of products such as Gmail and AdSense. :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side_project_time#cite_note-:1....
The Time Magazine article is one of the places where they say GMail was not a 20% project:
- >Gmail is often given as a shining example of the fruits of Google’s 20 percent time, its legendary policy of allowing engineers to divvy off part of their work hours for personal projects. Paul Buchheit, Gmail’s creator, disabused me of this notion. From the very beginning, “it was an official charge,” he says. “I was supposed to build an email thing.”
: https://time.com/43263/gmail-10th-anniversary/#:~:text=Gmail...
It's because some media stories used GMail as an example of a 20% project -- and -- those stories also end up being cited in places like Wikipedia:
- >Google is credited for popularizing the practice that 20 percent of an employee's time may be used for side projects. At Google, this led to the development of products such as Gmail and AdSense. : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side_project_time#cite_note-:1....
The Time Magazine article is one of the places where they say GMail was not a 20% project:
- >Gmail is often given as a shining example of the fruits of Google’s 20 percent time, its legendary policy of allowing engineers to divvy off part of their work hours for personal projects. Paul Buchheit, Gmail’s creator, disabused me of this notion. From the very beginning, “it was an official charge,” he says. “I was supposed to build an email thing.” : https://time.com/43263/gmail-10th-anniversary/#:~:text=Gmail...