In a stroke of luck, Ved had been searching Google Domains, Google’s website-buying service, when he noticed that Google.com was available for purchase on September 29.
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Earlier this month, we reported about Sanmay Ved, an ex-Google employee who bought the Google.com domain after he discovered it was for sale.
Now Mr Ved has been given a cash reward for spotting the error, which he has chose to donate to charity.
Mr Ved detailed his experience in a post on the LinkedIn site saying that he had been keeping an eye on Google-related web domains for a few time because he used to work at the search giant.
He even received emails with internal information and was able to access the webmasters control.
This was followed by a cancellation message sent by the website buying service which said he could not take over Google.com because someone else had already registered it and his $12 payment was refunded. When Google first told him he wouldn’t get any money as a result of the accidental transaction, he said it was fine – he’d rather it be donated to charity anyways.
To match his “good deed”, Google agreed to donate an undisclosed sum of money to the Art of Living India Foundation on Ved’s request.
In an interview with Business Insider, the Bostonian says the money is not important to him.
It seems that Sanmay Ved is content with being known simply as “the man who bought Google”. “It was never about the money”, he told Business Insider.
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“I also want to set an example that it’s people who want to find bugs that it’s not always about the money”, he added. However, his donation will hopefully improve lives of numerous poor children in his country of origin.
