Google’s Legendary Perks Slowly Disappearing? – Google is famous for its “startup” culture featuring big-time perks for employees.  Some have attributed these benefits, including free meals and allowing employees to spend a percentage of their work time on pet projects, to being a big part of Google’s ability to keep employees happy, attract top talent and stay on top of the Internet world.  But can a big company like Google ever keep that nimble, “startup” culture intact?  The experiences of other companies suggest that it can’t, and it seems that this culture is slowly slipping away at Google, particularly in light of a decrease in its stock price and ongoing questions about its ability to expand beyond desktop search.  Valleywag, the Silicon Valley gossip site, is reporting on a dustup over changes in Google's free meals for employees program.  The site is actually spot on with its take on the controversy—it’s not just about perks or company politics…rather free meals have always been touted as a centerpiece of Google’s “startup” culture, and for that reason these latest GMeal developments could represent a real change in culture at the company...or at least a change in perception of the company's culture.

…And an update: Dinner saved for Google’s geeks

TradeVibes: A Fun Way to Track Startups – This is reminiscent of the recent-launched YouNoodle (which lets you “predict” the value of your startup on its site): Startup wiki TradeVibes rings the bell on its fantasy stock exchange