Rasmussen: Why I left Google for Facebook

Lars Rasmussen shows off Google Wave in May 2009.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

One of the lead engineers behind Google Maps and Google Wave has left the Web powerhouse to get into the thick of the "compelling" action at Facebook.
Last Friday, Lars Rasmussen said goodbye to his six-year career at Google; he'll start his new job at Facebook in December following a vacation. The noted Sydney, Australia-based software developer explained why he jumped ship in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald.
"It feels to me that Facebook may be a sort of once-in-a-decade type of company," Rasmussen told the Herald. "Obviously they've already changed the world and yet there seems to be so much more to be done there. And I think that it's the right place for me to be."
The size of Facebook versus that of Google was another reason for the job hop, according to Rasmussen. Comparing Google's 25,000 employees to Facebook's 2,000, Rasmussen told the newspaper that Google was becoming unwieldy and said he felt that Facebook's smaller size would make it easier to get things done