I gotta take more days off
You know, I gotta take more days off. I realized that during lunch. Sitting on the top floor of the Iron Works in the Austin sunshine. Eating BBQ. Damn, I’m getting fat but I’m fat and happy. Lots of great memories from SXSW. Sitting at the table was the Liz Lawley. Craig Newmark. Lili Cheng. Jenny Lam. (Jenny and Lili do a lot of design work on Windows). Nothing important got said, just a fun lunch relaxing in the sun. I just pinched myself and thought that at some point someone will wake me up from this dream.
Speaking of fun stuff, yeah, Microsoft did the iPod box design parody video. Yes, we can laugh at ourselves. The marketing team did it to challenge the box designers for our products to do better. We need more of this stuff. Microsoft is a consensus culture and consensus (which means everyone has to sign off on things) does avoid trouble, but it also makes for uninspired products and marketing. That is our internal challenge to figure out, that’s for sure!
Speaking of designers, I love Alan Cooper. Some of my favorite memories of the 1990s are sitting around with him having conversations with him. I was lucky enough to record part of a conversation I had with him recently after he spoke at a conference so you can see part of his interesting personality. He says bombastic things. But he always gets me to think and that’s why I love him.
Welp, I’m off to get on a plane heading home.
Oh, one other thing. Some people said “get over yourself” because of my last post. I’m so tired of people telling me I can’t (or shouldn’t) be irritated, egotistical, or just a jerk. It’s my blog. Deal with it. Sometimes I +am+ an arrogant, egotistical, jerk. But, who are you to tell me I can’t be that way? What? You trying to outdo me in the arrogant/ego/jerk department? Heheh!
Have a good one. 134 emails to go.
Powered By 
March 14th, 2006 at 5:07 pm
how about you categorize your emails with POPFile or CRM114 and have someone else handle the ones that fall into certain categories? the other commenter was right, you need an assistant.
just like bill!
another idea: only give out a special email address for “email from the public” and give access to a closely trusted friend or something.
focus on the higher-order bits, man.
March 14th, 2006 at 6:09 pm
Maybe a three day weekend is in order just to recharge the batteries.
Ignore the critics - let them whine about you on their own blogs.
March 14th, 2006 at 6:18 pm
The “Origami Denouement Day” was only 5 days ago, you are suffering from what folks in the film industry call “post-production blues”. Coming down from a mental crescendo is not easy. I remember working on a picture with Sharon Stone, standing next to her in a chow line and talking about New York City, exchanging meaningful glances, and thinking, “My god, how am I going to live the rest of my life knowing it’s all downhill from here?” Yeah, taking a long break seems like a safe bet.
March 14th, 2006 at 6:37 pm
scoble
i think the microsoft-designs-ipod-box video was fine if it was not meant seriously and just made to have microsoft think about box design. but microsoft does not make packaging “just like that” as some people have said in response. as anyone here who had bought a copy of XP knows, the windows XP box and packaging was very minimal, and on the points that the video addresses it was very tasteful. i mentioned this somewhere and people point out an ugly japanese version of the XP box, the relevance of which i don’t know.
March 14th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
>box designers for our products to do better. We need more of this stuff.
I have one (it has a Motorola RAZR V3 form factor and is something like an iPod as for its market value) - a reference design for a Mobile PC notebook (http://www.freewebs.com/compact_keyboard). I have transferred the comfort of ten-finger ergonomic typing on a mobile device. Recently, I have made a slogan for the project - It’s a keypad for comfortable typing.
March 14th, 2006 at 7:53 pm
Those interested in the issue may find “Get Over Yourself” t-shirts already on sale via cafepress.com. There are variants, although the management takes no responsibility for some of the others.
(Encouraging one-on-one response with the world isn’t sustainable, and usually shows effects after about three years… better to set up networks within the organization to handle such contact. The thing that blogs do need is the name of the author, not an offer of private contact, although I realize this offers different returns to the blogger. Best tip I’ve seen is to write for the reader, not for the author or those who have touched him up recently.)
March 14th, 2006 at 7:55 pm
Robert,
Cooper was a guy whose book revolutionized how I thought about software design: from a user’s perspective. We geeks and engineers love to think we know what a user needs, but man, does his “about design” book change opinions!
Take some time off.. Sounds like you need rest, dude!
-J
March 14th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
Robert, I am curious how you and Liz Lawley met? See I have an interest because when I was an IT student at RIT back in the late 90’s (god has it been that long?) she was a professor of mine so it is quite intriguing to see that you two are good friends.
By the way what is she up too? Still at RIT I would assume.
Thanks
March 14th, 2006 at 9:28 pm
Right on, Robert — be yourself. Hell, if people don’t like you haven’t they figured out that they can just stop reading?
March 14th, 2006 at 9:30 pm
Blogger burnout, it happens to them all.
Mr. Sun…yah might wanta play with BluffTitler DX9, sorta consumerish but fun and broadcast quality. :) Cool stuff you been tinkering with. You do sfx and titles per post-production?
That is our internal challenge to figure out, that’s for sure!
30 years yet and haven’t gotten a hook, but no matter, you didn’t develop an Empire by being sexy, rather by being pure commodity. Boring, is in fact, good. It’s only that the sex-up attempts end up becoming shareholder-wasting Xbox-billions-level deep deep ratholes, populated with brainless wind-up toy Marketing Evangelists and Bloggers — always inviting eternal ridicule. Now Apple which is pure sexy, still commands market-share not even in double digits. So sexy ain’t very.
The REAL internal challenge is how to get people to move off of “good enough”, Microsoft being it’s own worst competitor. XP and Office (for most) are good enough, the internal challenge is to move Office 12 and Vista into the MUST-HAVE section. This is what that cash hoard is always meant for, weathering a missed upgrade cycle.
March 14th, 2006 at 10:20 pm
Life is always a leverage, Scoble.
Here are a few advantages of the gatekeeper’s role:
- you cannot be fired from Microsoft
- you are pretty much of control of what you want to do professionally (sounds like a parody right now, I know, but in the spare time between mails you really do have this freedom - unlike most of other people)
The solution to your situation is not a technical one. Forget CRM categorization of mails :-).
March 14th, 2006 at 10:26 pm
Okay guys, what type of phone does Scoble have? I’m impressed by how many pictures he uploads to Flickr and I think I want a camera that can do that.
March 14th, 2006 at 10:36 pm
I like your style of dealing with complaining people.
March 14th, 2006 at 10:46 pm
So the marketing people & box designers are different people? And the marketing people did the vid to challenge the boxers? So the boxers are the ones that decided to partition MS products into the Master-of-One/Jack-of-No-Trades philosophy? The problem isn’t the box itself; it’s the price fixe we-choose-the-courses packaging, not the physical package itself.
March 14th, 2006 at 11:22 pm
days off of what?
March 15th, 2006 at 12:56 am
[...] As I mentioned before, I don’t think this is as good a thing as Mr Scoble suggests. Yes, it’s good to be able to laugh at yourself. Yes, it’s good to be so creative that you can spend (clearly) a lot of time putting something like this together. But if the packaging people have to resort to such dramatic tactics to ‘educate‘ (!!!) the marketing people, there’s your problem right there. [...]
March 15th, 2006 at 2:40 am
>have to resort to such dramatic tactics to ‘educate‘ (!!!) the marketing people, there’s your problem right there.
It’s not a problem at all. Everyone needs a comfortable interface (iPod has it).
As for a mobile phone and PC in the future - a big enough display (2.8′) and a keyboard fitted on the palm for *typing*.
March 15th, 2006 at 5:10 am
Robert,
Exercise will help cure some of the blues :) Go out and enjoy the weather, take time off to relax and have fun.
March 15th, 2006 at 5:13 am
It sounds like that same old office expert problem. You can’t get your own work done as people keep asking you questions, but the ones who could answer but appear unapproachable are left in peace. Everybody just expects you will continue to be available. How unfair you can be to yourself!
I always wondered how you find the time to do your job and run a popular blog ;-).
I like your point that it’s about people not marketing. It’s your blog, so why should someone else set the rules? There’s room for all sorts of blogs (they’re just web sites after all).
March 15th, 2006 at 5:18 am
Consensus is good until it cripples you to the point where you can’t make a decision in under 30 people.
The problem with Microsoft is that too many things are designed by committees, and committees don’t have ideas, committees don’t have focus, committees have meetings.
March 15th, 2006 at 5:23 am
Hey Robert,
I am running a little contest for bloggers around the NCAA basketball tournament, and wanted to send you (and others) an invite.
I figure it’ll be fun to have geeky (I use that as a term on endearment) bloggers try to make sports predictions.
So who do you have making the Final Four?
(sorry to use your comments for this, but I wanted to be sure to invite you, and it seems like you get enough e-mail)
Here’s hoping you can take a little time off and watch some B-ball.
Cheers,
Jeffrey Treem
March 15th, 2006 at 5:29 am
[...] Scoble: “I’m getting fat but I’m fat and happy.” [...]
March 15th, 2006 at 5:38 am
I like the comment. “Days off of what?” Seems all you do is go out out to dinner, enjoy yourself and travel. What is your real job?
March 15th, 2006 at 5:52 am
Robert - thank you for your last two posts. I think they touch on things we all struggle with - work loads and not enough time. We tend to think that the weight of the world is on us and then we hear a story like Jimmy Wales’ and it stops us short. For most of us, life is pretty good - we just need to make the time to step back and enjoy what we have a little more than we do now.
So, yes, step back. Don’t turn on a computer for a full day (yikes!) and spend some time with your lovely wife. Enjoy the good life you have because, from what we see here, you do have a good life filled with wonderful people.
March 15th, 2006 at 6:08 am
“It’s my blog, deal with it.” — Nice; very nice. This is what I like most about your evangelist style, you still come of as a person.
March 15th, 2006 at 6:39 am
I second the above ;-)
sounds like you need more Vitamin C =P
March 15th, 2006 at 6:54 am
>The problem with Microsoft is that too many things are designed by committees
No problem when it is the right solution. The solution for everyone who has a mobile phone - that’s all 30 people. It’s a persistent need - a keypad for comfortable typing like on a standard keyboard. Where do you want to go today. Go ahead.
March 15th, 2006 at 6:57 am
[...] Scoble mentioned it and got me intrigued. [...]
March 15th, 2006 at 8:41 am
Hey keep going and be yourself! Your blog, and some of the actions of MS of late have turned this 100% MS hater around.
March 15th, 2006 at 9:18 am
Cleaning house
I finally did what I had been meaning to do for quite some time. I cleaned up my feedreader a little. Rearranged mostly, but I removed a few as well. Mostly I removed Scoble, Dave, and Stowe. Why? Because I happen to agree with Josh. I really…
March 15th, 2006 at 9:56 am
[...] Scobleizer - Microsoft Geek Blogger » I gotta take more days off Speaking of fun stuff, yeah, Microsoft did the iPod box design parody video. Yes, we can laugh at ourselves. The marketing team did it to challenge the box designers for our products to do better. We need more of this stuff. Microsoft is a consensus culture and consensus (which means everyone has to sign off on things) does avoid trouble, but it also makes for uninspired products and marketing. That is our internal challenge to figure out, that’s for sure! [...]
March 15th, 2006 at 11:20 am
I’m gonna be in Seattle this weekend - any non-things going on? I have a loose plan to visit some Celtic Bar on the Ave Fri night but a lot of stars would have to align.
March 15th, 2006 at 11:29 am
“Eating BBQ. Damn, I’m getting fat but I’m fat and happy.”
Robert, BBQ is not fattening. That’s a myth made up by wives who are concerned that their husbands do not have enough life insurance. I grew up in Kansas City the BBQ capital of the universe, and while I may now in my late 50s be a tad rotund, it has nothing to do with eating BBQ.
It’s because of, um, global warming.
March 15th, 2006 at 11:47 am
Hey Mike, thats it, KC is in the middle and global warming does affect your size. I live in KC and it does serve up the best BBQ in the world!
March 15th, 2006 at 12:04 pm
Robert
More, more (or too much) is a distinctly US thing.
We often forget that it’s quality rather than quantity that matters.
Being able to talk with others about various things be it music, food, wine rather than our current obsession or work. We forget to chill and listen to others, open our ears and eyes.
Enough said
Serge
Biz:
http://www.montclairconcierges.com
Blog:
http://sergetheconcierge.typepad.com
March 15th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
>Guzzard: that shows that you don’t have any concept of what goes on when you publish a popular blog. I get hundreds of emails a day. You ever try to answer hundreds of emails? Every day? Sometimes they come in faster than I can answer them. I answer each and every one (or try to).
Second, what happens when you get popular? People invite you to speak. In just the past week I’ve been on dozens of radio stations and given a couple of presentations.
Third, you get asked to consult. Lots of groups inside your company want help in doing what you are doing better. More meetings/presenations/consultations.
Fourth, there’s my day job. That’s Channel 9. Ever try to keep fresh content coming nearly every day for more than two years? That requires calling, emailing, networking, and more.
Fifth, there’s the blog itself. Needs to be written. How do you write it? Gotta read. I read hundreds of feeds.
Sixth, back to #1. I’m paid to be an evangelist. That means helping developers build software on our new platforms. So, when a developer asks for help, I gotta get it for him/her. That requires building tons of relationships and working to make sure people get paid attention to. In a company with 60,000 employees that’s not easy.
Seventh: since I read a lot of feeds and get a lot of email, I tell a lot of executives to get their acts together. You ever tell an executive to buy a company, take care of a customer or change his/her behavior? It’s not something that’s particularly easy to do.
So, while it might look like all I’m doing is having fun, it isn’t as easy as it looks.
March 15th, 2006 at 2:42 pm
Microsoft did the iPod box design parody video.
It’s pretty sad that Microsoft paid somebody to do that.
Sometimes it’s better to make a mistake on a SHIPPING product.
;-)
March 15th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
Whoo - Hoo…. Remind them there’s always that little X in the corner if they have a problem with what you write!
March 15th, 2006 at 5:33 pm
Too right, mate: just be yourself. If others can’t handle it, it’s their problem. This is your blog. And wasn’t “being yourself” the whole idea of having a blog?
March 15th, 2006 at 8:32 pm
Hi, I am offering my services with enzymes. It can help you not gain weight. I emailed you, so whenever you want to come see me, i would love to help you. I am a Next Now member and heard you speak on blogs. have been blogging every since.
Let me know anytime you want some advise.
drellencutler.wordpress.com
March 16th, 2006 at 12:34 am
Scoble said “I get hundreds of emails a day.”
How many of these are WordPress comments? You could dish all those and spare some time off.
March 16th, 2006 at 5:18 am
“Fourth, there’s my day job. That’s Channel 9. Ever try to keep fresh content coming nearly every day for more than two years? That requires calling, emailing, networking, and more.” –
Okay - I get it, I was wondering what your CORE job is. I think you need some help. Microsoft should have a Scoble support team, or quit Microsoft and then start ScobleSoft consulting, hire a few people who know their stuff and share your similar passions. You will then be able to work your own schedule. Make Microsoft your first customer. BTW I evangelize MS at work, so much so that one of my bosses goals for 2006-2007 is for me to get training in other software products, I asked her, “Like what?” the only thing she could muster is, “Oracle”.
Thanks for keeping it real!
March 16th, 2006 at 7:00 am
LOL ScobleSoft … that sounds more like a personal problem then a Business.
That’s why my blog is called Damn Ralph folks.
March 16th, 2006 at 7:14 am
“Microsoft is a consensus culture”
Bwhahahahaha! Yeah, and linux is a dictatorship. Pigs fly, and cows jump over the moon every day. Also, hell is experiencing a major freeze.
Sorry for the troll comment, but I couldn’t resist.
March 16th, 2006 at 8:41 am
Again, if I use your blog as a resume the first thing I learn about you is that you cannot manage your time and you have a hard time prioritizing your job from your hobbies. From the list above the only thing important to a potential employer is how you handle #6. And it seems to me that is falling down the list. (given that it wasn’t mentioned until #6). You’re not being paid to blog (or so you say) or take world tours (since you’ve mentioned many times that you fund a lot of these junkets yourself), so if that is causing your inbox to fill up and taking time away from your real job, then…stop blogging. Will Microsoft care? If so, then have them adjust your committments to account for it. If they won’t care, then that’s something you have to let your ego deal with.
March 16th, 2006 at 9:01 am
A life unexamined is not worth living.
March 16th, 2006 at 9:52 am
>(2.8′) and a keyboard fitted on the palm for *typing*.
for everyone.
March 16th, 2006 at 10:00 am
>for everyone
Does anyone realize it?
March 16th, 2006 at 10:28 am
That video is the best work I’ve ever seen from Microsoft. It even tops the Z80 softCard.
March 16th, 2006 at 10:39 am
>Does anyone realize it?
or I will retire as an engineer ;-)
March 16th, 2006 at 11:07 am
So, Robert, speaking of Microsoft’s marketing…what’s your opinion of their “Your Potential. Our Passion” ads?
Oh, and just for the record, I didn’t read your post as a complaint about being overworked as much as I read it as a “this is cool, I oughta do more of this” story. You know, where “fat and happy” is GOOD thing…
March 16th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
Betsy: more BBQ on a sunny day with friends IS a good thing!
dmad: if my boss isn’t happy with my work, he can tell me. The fact that I’m getting more employment offers now than five years ago tells me that my work has value.
March 16th, 2006 at 8:02 pm
[...] Today morning I stumbled across a video doing rounds called Microsoft iPod (done by the MS marketing team, see it right below) – [...]
March 18th, 2006 at 7:09 am
Taking time to slow down and smell the BBQ. Now, that’s a good day! I feel better just reading about it. I must do the same.
March 18th, 2006 at 12:36 pm
@52. Yes, I’m sure he would. But, as others have mentioned, you’ve managed to make yourself “unfireable”. Imagine the hue and cry of MS fired you. It would be front page news in the blog world. And I’m sure you would parlay it to your advantage. My point is, if one were merely to go by your blog as a resume one would see you have prioritization and focus issues.
As for getting more employment offers than 5 years ago..well.. how hard is that? You have MS on your resume…er..I mean blog. I’m sure 5 years ago not many people wanted to hire pseudo-journalist majors from SJSU.
And, again, you have MS and “MS’s primer blogger” associated with your name. Doesn’t really say how well you can execute. I mean, ex-boxers get plenty of job offers as Casino hosts, too. If you want to be the token blogger for a company, I guess that’s cool. I’d rather hire somebody that can be a bit more productive and add to the long term shareholder value. I’ve yet to figure out how this blogging has lead to a postive movement in MS’s stock price.
March 19th, 2006 at 7:00 am
MS Humour.
Almost everybody has seen the Microsoft iPod packaging parody. But not everybody knows that the author(s) of this video were staff from Microsoft itself. Apparently the marketing people wanted to challenge the packaging design people during an internal…
June 9th, 2006 at 3:43 am
I hadn’t noticed your blog before, but I’m responding to an old post because its the first I’ve read. I think that your blog enables a more homey feel when it comes to thinking about microsoft. e.g. your last paragraph in this post humanizes ms, which people in the past have been afraid of (think future matrix/robots take over world etc). And Dmad is correct, you hit the submit button on your posting interface at 4:52 pm on a Tuesday. That means you must have been workin on this post since at least 4:30. The average workday is 9-5, so comon, stop stealing your company’s time and concern yourself more with stock prices.