> how did Go raise the bar compared to something like Java or C#, the actual “blue-collar” languages?

For me, Go being combination of being well-thought-out, opinionated and batteries included took away the futile fanboi flamewars/bike-shedding: JBoss or WebSphere? Tabs or spaces? Struts or Spring?

For these reasons and more, Go is offers a more pleasant experience when working in a team. When reading code other's wrote,I encounter fewer surprises in the logic and project structure. Go codebases are easier to grok, IMO.