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Boise man chases down Google
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Aaron Stanton, of Boise, has recently become an Internet celebrity. His plan to submit a business idea to Google Inc. has led him on an adventure that attracted tens of thousands of people.
In the past few weeks, he has documented his unusual journey to gain an audience with Google.
Stanton, 25, recently graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in organizational psychology. During college, he briefly and unsuccessfully attempted to contact Google with his business idea. Stanton held onto this idea for the future as he started to work as a video game journalist.
After seeing his father suffer a near death medical incident, Stanton felt inspired to attempt his Google meeting. His passion for his idea resurfaced.
“I’ve always known it’s $1 million to Google,” Stanton said in his online video. “I just really believed if they hear it, sat down and listen to the idea, they would see that too.”
He tried the traditional methods of contacting Google, such as submitting his idea via an online form, but received no response. He decided to show up at Google’s doorstep.
He bought a plane ticket to California where he would approach Google’s headquarters in the city of Mountain View.
One way or another, he was determined to make his pitch
to Google.
When Stanton arrived at Google, he approached several receptionists in an effort to make an appointment.
The receptions turned him away and referred him to the traditional method of requesting an appointment. Stanton, however, remained in California.
He set up www.cangooglehearme.com, which chronicles his quest to speak directly with Google.
The site features video updates of his efforts. His charismatic Web site quickly saw big traffic. At one point, the Internet rating site Alexa.com listed Stanton’s site as the fifth fastest-growing Website on the Internet.
His story got international attention. He was rapidly receiving e-mails from all over the world. Dozens of supportive e-mails poured in every hour.
“This is something where I have served as an inspiration for people, which I never would have expected,” he said. “I had 1,500 e-mails in the last week that are, with one exception, all positive.”
Media outlets began to cover his mission. Stanton even gave a live interview on the BBC.
Google employees must have noticed all of the commotion. His site tracked one visitor from inside the Google campus on his blog. The next day, 600 people within Google had visited his blog.
Stanton got the response he was craving. He received an e-mail from someone inside Google named Dave. The subject line read: “We can hear you 
.”
“That was the first time I realized that my message was really well received and that I came in peace,” Stanton said. “Either that or maybe they were just circulating my picture so the security guards would know who I was.”
Stanton was invited into Google where he summarized his ideas so it could later be relayed to others in the organization.
Even after Stanton presented his ideas to Google, he still had strong attention and support.
“People have been extraordinarily supportive and I’m amazingly flattered that they’ve taken an interest in me,” Stanton said. “There’s always been the possibility that my idea is not as good as I believe. Now, if that turns out to be true, I feel like I’ll be letting down a great deal more people than I was before.”
Stanton has refused to go into any details about his idea.
Google made him sign a nondisclosure agreement.
Shikhar Sarin, associate dean for Boise State’s College of Business, notes that businesses often have a significant legal liability when they agree to hear new ideas.
“If someone pitches you an idea and in five or 10 years you create a product that resembles it even closely, they can sue you,” said Sarin. “Smart companies are already constantly scanning for new ideas, and intellectual property protection is a big issue for companies. They don’t want to put themselves in a position where they are open to legal backlash.”
Stanton has since returned to Boise.
He has not directly commented on his meeting(s) but continues to update his still-popular blog. He has said that he is in search for computer programmers to assist him in “Act Two.”
“When you have this much momentum, you don’t squander it,” Stanton said.
Nathan Thomas
