IIRC it was a 20% time project. Up to you to decide if that makes 20% time more or less of a good idea.

I was the Associate Product Manager assigned to Orkut as it prepared to launch. It was not 20% of his time ;-) Orkut was the backup name we had to go with because we couldn't reach a deal to get the name he wanted (eden.com) from a domain squatter.

They paved Paradise and put up a parking lot.

Looks like somebody got it. Do you remember what the squatter's terms were then, or was it simply not for sale at any price?

Good to know! But did it originate as a 20% time project? Because this is not the first time I've heard this.

Today I learned! The aspx and the lack of branding really had me fooled. And when the Google branding came along, that’s when it started to go down in my circle, so I never knew that it was a Google (20%) project!