New MSFT blog, but different
What Makes This Blog Different?
Most of the blogs at Microsoft are from some great people who either work on building a product, or are working "out in the field" to generate excitement around Microsoft's products (now those are cool jobs!). Yes, that is sort of a generalization, but close enough for me to explain why my blog is a bit different: I work at Microsoft's corporate headquarters, but I don't build a product - I build something that helps sell multiple products (see below). Plus I plan to occasionally blog about the fact that I live on a houseboat, I like to snow ski, bicycle, snowshoe, snowboard, wakeboard, sea kayak, I try to be environmentally friendly, I like to play with gadgets, I get a kick out of showing people how using Microsoft software can make their lives easier (really!), and I of course also like playing with our dog and bunny, and traveling with my wife, family, and friends. Whew!
OK, that's all nice, but...
What do I do at Microsoft?
I am the Group Program Manager in the Microsoft Technology Center (MTC) at Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, WA, USA. I am in charge of (1) managing a team of incredibly talented employees, (2) coordinating cross-company efforts in regards to the "demo platform" (more on that later) (3) building demos on that demo platform, (4) distributing this demo platform to the other MTCs around the world, and (5) presenting the demo to some of the biggest companies in the world (names will remain confidential). Cool, huh? Before this... I started working at Microsoft in 1994 supporting OS/2 LAN Manager in PSS (officially in Corporate Network Support) and have had a variety of technical, managerial, and sales-focused roles since then. I worked at Boeing and Weyerhaeuser before coming to Microsoft.
So look for my future blog entries to cover all of the above topics, plus other items as they come up.
In typical blog fashion, a couple of blogs that I find very useful and/or interesting that I try to regularly read are:
Microsoft Monitor from Jupiter Research
My Environmental Mantra: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Replant, and Rethink