Thanks for asking great questions today. We had a great day here in the Scoble house. Had a nice goodbye party with tons of great people (we had just as many Google employees at the house today as attended Gnomedex yesterday). Lots of good New Orleans cookin! Anyone wanna come over and help eat it? The beer is still cold. Anyway, let’s get started.
BRAD ASKED: “What’s the one thing your most proud of about your time at MSoft, the one thing you might do differently, and the one thing you didn’t get to do but wanted to?”
MY ANSWER: Getting Steve Ballmer to change Microsoft’s support of a Washington State Gay Rights bill which led to its passing. That was probably the riskiest thing I did but I told my mom I’d look for ways to stand up for minorities in society and glad to help play a part in that. What might I do differently? I’m still sad I didn’t learn to program. I think it hurt my credibility with developers both inside and outside the company and I wish I had more skills. Even now I’m finding that I’m interested in learning more about how to build things rather than just mouth off about them. What was the one thing I wanted to do? I really wanted to go to China and India and see what Microsoft was doing there. I was planning a trip to India when I decided to change jobs. Hopefully I’ll still get to do something like that but it’ll be looking at Microsoft and other software companies from the outside rather than the inside.
BROOK ASKED: “What is Microsoft’s internal perception of what you did for them, and have the noticed a change in public perception?”
MY ANSWER: There are more than 60,000 employees at Microsoft and the perception would vary widely from employee to employee. Many employees (nay, most) still don’t know who I am or care what’s going on in the blogging world. But, today I had more than 100 people at my house, a large percentage of whom were Microsoft employees (including executives from Research and Audio) so I think that demonstrates the extraordinary love I’ve felt from most Microsoft employees that I’ve run into over the years. As to change in public perception. It’s hard to sense that, but in internal measurements I have seen show sizeable movements in our survey results. I really only cared about what customers thought anyway and I keep hearing that Microsoft is an easier company to deal with now than it was four years ago. Here’s another way to look at it: today you can go to Google, search “OneNote blog” and find Chris Pratley who runs the OneNote team. You can leave him a comment and tell him you think his product sucks. And you can see how he, and his team, reacts to that. To me that’s a huge change from how I used to help people in newsgroups before blogs.
STEVEN ASKS: “What can you tell us about RSS/OPML/XMLRPC and the internal opinions of Microsoft? (ie. Don’t care so much about RSS readers, dime a dozen)”
This is an area where we’ve seen Microsoft make huge adoptions. When I started at Microsoft three years ago they didn’t have RSS in any product. Now they have it in lots including Sharepoint, which is the intranet tool used by many many Fortune 100 companies. I can’t understate that enough. And, if I helped by saying that Microsoft product planners and marketers who didn’t support RSS should be fired then I’m very happy to have played my part. OPML is also supported by Outlook for inbound and outbound RSS feeds. I think you should watch what Ray Ozzie does in this area very closely. The stuff I saw before I left was astounding.
HE ALSO ASKS: “You switched to WordPress because Matt added OPML support, do you still use Manilla, Frontier or the OPML Editor and are Microsoft doing anything at all within this realm?”
Sharepoint looks very close to Manila. I am still using the OPML Editor and will use it more in the future at PodTech.
RANDY ASKS: “Now for a tough question Robert. Do you think Windows is a drag on product teams, not a factor, or a benefit to other product teams? Explain.”
It’s both a drag and a benefit. First, the drags. Windows only ships once every two to five years (at least the consumer Windows like Windows 95, 98, ME, XP, and now Windows Vista). So, if a developer comes up with some killer new feature he or she needs to wait until the next version will ship. Features under development today won’t ship until 2008 or later. I know a lot of people who like working more on Windows Live technologies (like Virtual Earth) for just that reason — they can ship new features every few weeks and don’t need to wait for Windows to ship.
Benefit? Well, anything you put into Windows will be used by millions of people. Even a feature hidden deep inside a control panel will get massive usage. There aren’t many software projects in the world where you can say “my little tiny feature will get used by millions, or maybe hundreds of millions of people around the world.”
That said, I’d like to see Windows be a bit more agile in shipping out new features. I want a Media Player, for instance, that has podcasting support built in. How long are we going to have to wait?
BRIAN ASKS: “Is there a super-duper secret backhannel method for communicating directly to Bill Gates?”
Nope. He answers email sent from Microsoft employees to billg@microsoft.com (he answered a couple of mine directly which always thrilled me and other employees who got this treatment). Employees can also submit “ThinkWeek” papers directly to him. I spent some time looking through the ThinkWeek site (it’s open to every employee) and you can see BillG interacting with tons of different employees right there. So can any employee interact with him.
Oh, and customers can email him at the same address, but then it’s a little more likely that one of his assistants will answer it.
Getting into his office physically is a bit harder, but not impossible. The best way is to write a killer ThinkWeek paper about something that he wants to learn more about. Some of my writing was included in a paper written by Lili Cheng and a few other researchers and that turned into a 1.5-hour conversation about RSS and blogs. That turned into public statements by BillG and let to RSS being included in many projects throughout the company.
JEFFREY ASKS: “Who’s Mini?”
I don’t know. He says he met me once, though. The only guy I know who knows him is Jay Greene who is a journalist at BusinessWeek. I asked him to sell Mini out, but, of course, Jay refused. I’m sure Jay will be happy to confirm to anyone that Mini isn’t me, though. (I’ve been asked that more than once lately).
GEORG ASKS: “I’m from Austria and will be in October in San Francisco. Stupid question: Will there be something like a geek-dinner?”
I’ve been telling everyone that all you need to do is bring a bottle of wine and you are welcome at our new house in Half Moon Bay (we have a guest room and we love meeting bloggers, geeks, developers, interesting people). And, of course, we’ll have lots of fun events.
GABE ASKS: “Three things you would change at Microsoft?”
1) I would incubate more products outside of Microsoft for a longer period of time. What do I mean by that? Well, I’ve seen lots of things change this industry that were done by small teams of people. Xbox? Two people. .NET? A handful. Live.com? A handful. Or, look outside the company. How many people built my favorite TechMeme? One! The problem is that if any team develops something that’s cool it’s brought into the main mother ship very quickly now. That slows them down as they now need to deal with being dependent on other people and other teams. In fact watch what Google does. They keep teams separate which makes them look chaotic and not strategic but it lets them innovate longer before they get sucked into the “integration” phase. I’d also like to see teams forced to get some momentum on their own before being integrated into Office or Windows or Live.com. The MSN Spaces team, for instance, got so many users so fast that they needed to focus most of their energy the first year on infrastructure rather than features. If they hadn’t been integrated into MSN Messenger for another year maybe that would have forced the team to compete on the basis of sheer features instead of integration. But, keep in mind that I’m full of shit too and doing what I say might have really screwed up things. That’s what’s fun about business. No one really knows the right idea until after it’s been discovered, implemented, and customers chime in.
2) I would actually start a new company that’s designed to destroy the old one. Xerox got very close to doing that with Xerox PARC, but the executives weren’t able to pull the trigger. Imagine what our industry would have been like if the executives there HAD pulled the trigger?
3) I would put a single person in charge of naming and fire anyone who didn’t listen to the dictator. I’d do the same thing about corporate image. Same with conference planning. Same with advertising. Committees just suck the soul out of the best ideas. On the other hand, I would hate to be that person cause if you screwed up you’d have no one else to blame.
HE ALSO ASKS: “Three companies you would purchase and or merge with?”
I always wished we got along better with Sony. Some parts of Sony just make beautiful products. I used a Sony camcorder. I’m watching a Sony TV. It’s stunning. Jeff Sandquist loves his new tiny Vaio notebook. But, integrating Microsoft’s corporate cultures would be very difficult, and the DOJ would never allow the game divisions to exist in the same company.
SCOTT ASKS: “What didn’t Microsoft want you to blog about?”
The one thing I was asked to stay away from was legal issues. Mostly for my own protection. Executives told me stories about spending months away from home to spend time in courtrooms. They all say it was the worst experience of their lives and they didn’t wish that on their worst enemies.
JIM ASKS: “Does Ray Ozzie have what it takes to change the Microsoft macro development culture from cathedral to bazaar?”
Yes. I came very close to staying at Microsoft just because of Ray. I hope everyone gives him a chance.
CHRIS ASKS: “Why do people hate Microsoft?”
Because Microsoft has treated many companies and people poorly. I have lots of stories about that. Remember before I worked at Microsoft? Someone at Microsoft tried to get me fired from a job. I’ve talked with lots of journalists who feel that Microsoft just tries to control what they write and don’t talk with them like human beings.
But, there’s something deeper. It’s the same reason I hate the Yankees. We hate entities that are on top. Our culture loves to make people bigger than life and then rip them down. That culture is exactly why so many people read gossip magazines (or, in our industry, why ValleyWag is already so popular).
UMA ASKS: “So what are your thoughts about fixing the blogging mess at Microsoft (since now you can really speak your mind ?)”
If you think it’s a mess at Microsoft you should hear stories from other companies. Most other companies’ employees in the world aren’t allowed to blog at all. Personally I LOVE the mess. It creates opportunities for you! If you think it’s a mess, clean up something. Invite people out for coffee and see if you can work together with other people to make it better.
I keep bugging execs to blog, for instance. They’ll get a clue about the power of doing this sooner or later. If they don’t, they’ll be fired and then the “clued in” leaders will get a shot. Just stick around. That type of change in the corporate world is coming and coming fast. The audiences are just getting too connected. Look at how fast my story broke. All you need to do is tell 15 bloggers something and if it rings true it’ll get repeated around the world. That’s what gets executives fired.
That’s what I was trying to warn Steve Ballmer about. The fact that he isn’t talking with the grassroots IS getting noticed.
GERT ASKS: “f you had a good/huge say in the development of Windows Vista: what would be the first thing to be changed, added, …”
First of all, the best stuff I’ve seen is the small things. 1,000 small things put together make a great experience. Things that bug me? The small things. The UI that isn’t consistent across all apps and all Windows. Why is that? Because Microsoft internally is like a hundred companies all under the same roof. Those companies often have their own ideas about how things should be done. It comes out in the small things. And, conversely, when things enthrall you that’s probably where tons of small things were done well.
But, specifically? My computer doesn’t understand that I have different roles. Why does it look the same when I’m using Second Life as it does when I’m watching a movie or as it does when I’m editing my blog or when I’m working on a spreadsheet. My computer is stupid (keep in mind I’m using Maryam’s new MacBook Pro and it’s just as stupid). I’d like it to understand a lot more about the roles I’m in and bring me experiences (and files and apps) that match those roles. For instance, when I’m watching a movie, why doesn’t my Sidebar pull up a YouTube gadget that lets me watch more videos after my movie is done? It should recognize that I’m in a movie-watching, or entertainment role. When I’m working on a spreadsheet, that stuff should go away and I’d love to see things like Money, a calculator, financial tools, stock reports, and other stuff that’d be in a “money management” role. But, our computers are stupid.
Don’t even start thinking about Steve Gillmor’s “attention” ideas.
ALFRED ASKS: “Who is the person you most wanted to interview for Channel 9 but didn’t get to interview?”
David Cutler. He is more responsible for the kernel than anyone else but doesn’t give interviews anymore. I heard that he wants his work to speak for him, which I respect. But I’d still love to interview him cause those of us using Windows really are playing inside his ideas and that would be fascinating.
A ASKS: “What would you say is the biggest flaw at Microsoft?”
Its inability to see small things when those things are still small. Did Microsoft see RSS eight years ago? No. Did it see blogging five years ago? No. Did it see search eight years ago? No.
It’s the small things that’ll do a big company in.
JOHNNY ASKS: “Do you think Microsoft should have tried to be more international and less USA-national?”
That’s always a problem in the tech industry, but Microsoft actually is a leader here. Most products are released in 26 languages. One video I did that still is in the hopper on Channel 9 is one I did with the localization teams. Really great stuff they do. But, there’s more to do. Microsoft has offices all over the world, though, and that’s a huge strength that it has that it should use more.
CAROLUS ASKS: “Now that you are leaving, are you going to buy a Mac, and only run windows when you absolutely have to?”
Yes. I am buying a Mac. But I’m also buying another Tablet PC.
I will probably run Windows Vista on my Mac. I’m using Maryam’s new MacBook Pro right now and I still don’t like OSX as much as Vista. But, I know lots of people don’t agree with me there. Yes, I’ll use Windows Vista as my main OS. The latest builds are really looking great, although I’m still having problems with drivers here and there.
SHE ALSO ASKS: “When will Mac and Windows become one?”
Well, with Parallels and BootCamp, it’s getting closer. But, I doubt they’ll ever be totally one. There are too many APIs on each one that only work well natively. Rebuilding those so that they both would run together would be akin to tearing down New York and rebuilding it from scratch. Not gonna happen due to sheer economics. Not to mention that the people who built the buildings aren’t working in the industry anymore.
SEARCHENGINES ASKS: “1- http/xml ultimately became known as AJAX last year – and took off – why did microsoft not attempt to promote the technology and publicize it.”
Whenever you ask a question like this you need to realize that Microsoft is a business. Now, phrase the question again: “what would the business value be of publicizing a marketing term like AJAX?” I don’t see any. What do you see? I think Microsoft is completely happy simply to employ Scott Isaacs and other geeks who developed the core technology underneath AJAX.
SEARCHENGINES ALSO ASKS: “MSN search engine only became a unique engine last year – why did Microsoft go YEARS without attempting to create an individual search engine.”
Because it didn’t look like search was going to be a big business. Google, in fact, almost went out of business. The other day I met a guy who worked at Exodus and told me that Google almost was closed down because it couldn’t pay its bills. It wasn’t until AdSense came along that Microsoft woke up to the fact that there was a business there.
Google was a small thing that Microsoft missed.
JACK ASKS: “Do you have a non-disclosure agreement with MS?, if there isn’t, will you join Google instead of PodTech?”
Yes, I do. But, I think what you are really asking is about a non-compete agreement. I think I have one of those too.
I’m not going to Google and doubt I would. Although if they want to offer me millions of dollars I sure would listen! Heheh.
JACK ASKS: “How should Microsoft view its competition-should it focus on the bigger competitors or the smaller ones?”
If you are building music stars, can you build them by copying Elvis or the Beattles? No.
Microsoft should focus on doing interesting things with software that help humans. If it does that, it’ll thrive for a long long time. If it just copies its competitors it’ll find that it’ll be increasingly difficult to hire the smartest people. Which will cause them to go into a death spiral. Smart people want to build innovative new things. They don’t want to copy what someone else does.
Hey, look at maps. No need to copy. None of the big companies has let me put reviews on addresses on maps. Wake me up when the innovation is done!
Translation: focus on doing things to help people live their lives and the rest of it will take care of themselves. That said, do watch what your competitors are doing to see if they learned something you didn’t see.
BRETT ASKS: “The actual number isn’t important but I wanted to know if there *was* a number that would have kept you at Microsoft? Did Microsoft ever ask you, “What would it take to keep you?” or were you leaving regardless of what they could have done?”
I’ve thought about that a lot. I’m sure that there’s a number that would have gotten me to stay for a while longer. But, I don’t believe that really would have mattered long term.
I’m a guy who likes taking risks and trying new things. As my mom was dying I realized I just wanted to shake my life up a lot and try something dramatically new/different. Having failure on the table again as a possiblity was a bit part of my decision. Oh, and getting rid of our twice-a-month commute down to California to see Patrick.
RONPIH ASKS: “Why did you decide to take a job at Microsoft?”
Because it is a company I admired and wanted to learn more about. And, because an executive bought a Tablet PC and was so passionate about gadgets that we’d have interesting conversations. Then he started reading my blog and asked if I’d be interested in joining the evangelism group.
Having someone show some interest in me and my career was intoxicating and exciting.
RONPIH ALSO ASKS: “What, if anything, changed your perceptions of the reasons you decided to take a job at Microsoft in the time you worked there?”
My reasons were only strengthened. It is — by far — the most interesting company in the world right now. Google seems sexier, but does Google have a research division? Does it have an Xbox team? Does it do everything from mice to Hotmail? No. Microsoft stands alone in my mind. It also is the most interesting organization of humans that I can think of. Despite its flaws it still builds the software that most of us use everyday.
RONPIH ALSO ASKS: “What obstacles did you encounter that made your job more difficult than it had to be?”
That’s a hard one to answer. I didn’t hit a lot of the stuff you might expect. Yeah, PR at the beginning gave the Channel 9 team a bit of trouble but we won them over.
I think that if there’s a thing that made my job more difficult it was the constant and increasing email load. I wish I had the temerity to ask for help with that.
RONPIH AGAIN: “What made you consider an offer from another company?”
I helped write the offer. So, of course I was interested in it! 
I covered this already in blog posts before. 1) I saw a dramatic new user model developing (content for portable devices and computers) and I wanted to try some new ideas I had. 2) I wanted to be back down in the Bay Area to be closer to our families. 3) I liked John Furrier and believed in him. 4) The team he was building was top-notch and interesting. 5) There was a considerable potential reward for the risk I was taking (I was trading in the best job in the industry for something unknown and that had the potential of failure).
RONPIH: “Would you consider working at Microsoft again in the future?”
Absolutely.
RONPIH: “What advice would you give to your successor?”
Be yourself. Don’t try to be my successor. I don’t wish that on anyone. Could Elvis copy the Beattles? No.
Build relationships with as many people as you can. Listen to feedback, particularly the harsh stuff (lots of geeks don’t like it when they are told off, instead, assume that they are right and you are wrong).
RICHARD ASKS: “What really happened to Longhorn? It was such an ambitious and groundbreaking product around PDC 2003. Vista is NOT Longhorn!”
Huh? Name one thing that Longhorn would have let you do that Vista doesn’t let you do.
DMAD ASKS: “Why did you keep whining about your less than $100,000/yr salary? Do you were fairly compensated
for carrying around a camera and interviewing people that actually worked on products that were intended to make money for the company?”
Because I was getting offers for more that I kept turning down. My value to the company had gone way behind just “carrying around a camera.” Demonstrates that you have no clue about what I actually did. One example? I spoke at Google to Google’s best customers and they gave me a better rating than 98% of the other speakers. Is that valueable? You betcha and companies were willing to pay for that. Why do you think that Steve Jobs is worth billions? Most of what he does is communicate with other people.
JAWAHAR ASKS: “Will you revive “talkingmoose” ?”
Hmmm, that might be fun, but I really don’t think a character blog or an anonymous blog is the best use of my time.
ENZO ASKS: “For the upcoming generations, like those whom have just graduated from college or high school, would you recommend working at Microsoft? Or would you suggest anywhere else?”
I can’t answer that. For some people I’d definitely recommend working at Microsoft. For others a startup might be more appropriate. It depends on what you’re trying to do. For instance, Emre, who works in Research, just came to Microsoft from Stanford. He said he considered startups and other big companies and no other company he researched was doing as much interesting work as Microsoft was doing.
Interesting. Hmm
Robert,
So youre the one who convinced Balmer to support the Gay Rights bill?
Yeah, technology companies really have a say so in legislation (thats sarcasm) – boneheaded move, my friend.
Only a leftie believes that legislators should write laws the people dont support, but hey, if youre moving to Cali, you should be ok with that
Robert,
So youre the one who convinced Balmer to support the Gay Rights bill?
Yeah, technology companies really have a say so in legislation (thats sarcasm) – boneheaded move, my friend.
Only a leftie believes that legislators should write laws the people dont support, but hey, if youre moving to Cali, you should be ok with that
Lauri, I know you’re a Republican. So you’re for getting rid of all lobbyists who work on behalf of companies and special interest groups? Cool! Something we’d agree on!
Not to mention it seems like you think that churches with 2,000 members should have any say in such things either. Is that what you’re saying?
If so, I’ll let you go first since you made the point. You tell your church to stay out of our public life and then I’ll say the same thing to the companies I work for, OK?
Lauri, I know you’re a Republican. So you’re for getting rid of all lobbyists who work on behalf of companies and special interest groups? Cool! Something we’d agree on!
Not to mention it seems like you think that churches with 2,000 members should have any say in such things either. Is that what you’re saying?
If so, I’ll let you go first since you made the point. You tell your church to stay out of our public life and then I’ll say the same thing to the companies I work for, OK?
@24 Actually from a shareholder perspective and a business perspective everything IS about selling more software. If they don’t they don’t stay in business. It’s pretty simple. And someone wants to make you a VP huh? Scary.
As for the gay rights bill, whether the right thing was done is highly debatable. Many are of the opinion companies should stay neutral on such issues. But, we can agree to disagree there. What’s hilarious is how this issue showed how easily invfluenced Ballmer can be. It was an amaturish PR move on MS’s part.
MS’s performance during the time you were there would indicate they didn’t get much out of your supposed visibility. But, I understand why you say numbers don’t matter when they don’t support your theory.
@24 Actually from a shareholder perspective and a business perspective everything IS about selling more software. If they don’t they don’t stay in business. It’s pretty simple. And someone wants to make you a VP huh? Scary.
As for the gay rights bill, whether the right thing was done is highly debatable. Many are of the opinion companies should stay neutral on such issues. But, we can agree to disagree there. What’s hilarious is how this issue showed how easily invfluenced Ballmer can be. It was an amaturish PR move on MS’s part.
MS’s performance during the time you were there would indicate they didn’t get much out of your supposed visibility. But, I understand why you say numbers don’t matter when they don’t support your theory.
Dmad: since arriving at Microsoft revenues have gone up. A LOT. Profits have gone up. A LOT. Customer satisfaction numbers have gone up for the first time in about a decade.
There were thousands of employees who signed a petition. But I was the first in public to sign my own name and speak out against it.
Dmad: since arriving at Microsoft revenues have gone up. A LOT. Profits have gone up. A LOT. Customer satisfaction numbers have gone up for the first time in about a decade.
There were thousands of employees who signed a petition. But I was the first in public to sign my own name and speak out against it.
robert,
I’m not a republican.
I think corporations have a right to lobby, but its only proper they keep out of issues that don’t directly impact their business. A corporation has a right to make a point that a law would impact their the market or their business.
Its similar for a religious organization or church. The issues are just different. A church can lobby to not have gay marriage;–and gay groups can lobby for it to be there.
—Unless there is a specific corporate perspective that matters to the issue, the involvement of corporate lobbying is hubris and unwelcome. Its not any different from a celebrity endorsing something just because they can sing and have no new or insightful perspective on the issue. Corporations shouldn’t throw their weight behind issues that they have nothing distinct to say about. It makes politics more like a game and less about the reality of the issues. The corporations if they do it are doing it for PR.
Involvement of large amounts of money in politics and in contributions is a problem that i think should be met with restrictions, but thats a different issue than endorsement and lobbying that doesn’t involve big money.
I made a comment when this issue first came up; we don’t need corporations to be more involved in politics than they are. Its one thing to be happy to have helped a bill pass that you support, and another to be happy to have done it by using the weight of a corporation which will only support by weighing PR issues. Why are you proud of that?
You could have made a difference just mentioning the bill on your blog. You could have convinced Ballmer to make Microsoft’s corporate culture more welcoming to gays. But I bet most people looking at the issue are thinking; why is it Microsoft’s business?
robert,
I’m not a republican.
I think corporations have a right to lobby, but its only proper they keep out of issues that don’t directly impact their business. A corporation has a right to make a point that a law would impact their the market or their business.
Its similar for a religious organization or church. The issues are just different. A church can lobby to not have gay marriage;–and gay groups can lobby for it to be there.
—Unless there is a specific corporate perspective that matters to the issue, the involvement of corporate lobbying is hubris and unwelcome. Its not any different from a celebrity endorsing something just because they can sing and have no new or insightful perspective on the issue. Corporations shouldn’t throw their weight behind issues that they have nothing distinct to say about. It makes politics more like a game and less about the reality of the issues. The corporations if they do it are doing it for PR.
Involvement of large amounts of money in politics and in contributions is a problem that i think should be met with restrictions, but thats a different issue than endorsement and lobbying that doesn’t involve big money.
I made a comment when this issue first came up; we don’t need corporations to be more involved in politics than they are. Its one thing to be happy to have helped a bill pass that you support, and another to be happy to have done it by using the weight of a corporation which will only support by weighing PR issues. Why are you proud of that?
You could have made a difference just mentioning the bill on your blog. You could have convinced Ballmer to make Microsoft’s corporate culture more welcoming to gays. But I bet most people looking at the issue are thinking; why is it Microsoft’s business?
Because its people are affected. And, because, if a state has better laws it’s easier to relocate smart people there.
Some of the best developers I know are gay. And, we’ve already seen how one or two people can totally change the world of software.
So, this stuff impacts Microsoft’s bottom line in a very real way.
There’s a reason that the tech industry is very big in San Francisco and surrounding areas.
If Microsoft wants to compete with Silicon Valley it better have an environment that is MORE friendly toward potential workers. Ironically this bill didn’t pass with eight years of Microsoft’s support. It was only until a small church pushed around Microsoft that it passed. There’s a lesson there too. Sometimes by advocating for a specific position you’ll cause a blow-back that’ll hurt your cause.
Because its people are affected. And, because, if a state has better laws it’s easier to relocate smart people there.
Some of the best developers I know are gay. And, we’ve already seen how one or two people can totally change the world of software.
So, this stuff impacts Microsoft’s bottom line in a very real way.
There’s a reason that the tech industry is very big in San Francisco and surrounding areas.
If Microsoft wants to compete with Silicon Valley it better have an environment that is MORE friendly toward potential workers. Ironically this bill didn’t pass with eight years of Microsoft’s support. It was only until a small church pushed around Microsoft that it passed. There’s a lesson there too. Sometimes by advocating for a specific position you’ll cause a blow-back that’ll hurt your cause.
Thanks Robert!
MSFT: Wonderful opportunity, wonderful journey, wonderful exit…the wheel goes round and round, please continue to share the experience.
- scott -
Thanks Robert!
MSFT: Wonderful opportunity, wonderful journey, wonderful exit…the wheel goes round and round, please continue to share the experience.
- scott -
Hey, I thought you weren’t taking credit for Microsoft’s change in stance on HB1515?
http://radio.weblogs.com/0001011/2005/05/06.html#a10011
Do I get a hundred Scoble dollars to spend at Channel 9 now?
Hey, I thought you weren’t taking credit for Microsoft’s change in stance on HB1515?
http://radio.weblogs.com/0001011/2005/05/06.html#a10011
Do I get a hundred Scoble dollars to spend at Channel 9 now?
Ed: well, I didn’t take credit back then cause I didn’t think I did that big a thing. But, I’ve gotten thanks from many gay Microsoft employees saying that my support of them meant an awful lot (including a really nice note a week or so ago from the leader of GAIM, Microsoft’s gay and lesbian employee association). So, I’ve been convinced that I did play a key role, although I didn’t think what I did was that big a deal back then.
Ed: well, I didn’t take credit back then cause I didn’t think I did that big a thing. But, I’ve gotten thanks from many gay Microsoft employees saying that my support of them meant an awful lot (including a really nice note a week or so ago from the leader of GAIM, Microsoft’s gay and lesbian employee association). So, I’ve been convinced that I did play a key role, although I didn’t think what I did was that big a deal back then.
[...] despite what you have heard, there are times when you really should sweat the small stuff. in a recent post on his blog, robert scoble was asked “what would you say is the biggest flaw at microsoft?” robert’s answer, while simple, rang very true with me because it’s one of the things i have long seen as the greatest flaw at my own company: “[microsoft’s greatest flaw is] its inability to see small things when those things are still small. did microsoft see rss eight years ago? no. did it see blogging five years ago? no. did it see search eight years ago? no. [...]
@32 And yet investors have been unimpressed.. A LOT. Please tell me you aren’t taking credit for revenues and profits going up. Remind me again what product you were responsible for producing?
That “boo hoo! it will hurt recruiting” is a red herring. I pretty sure MS’s stance on social issues will not be a make or break deal between an offer from, say, Google and and offer from Microsoft for a potential hire.
And I’m not sure but I’d be willing to bet the % of people affected in MS, or even the tech industry are reflective of society. I mean, this isn’t the rag business, or the dance business. So, MS is appealing to special interest minority groups and not the larger company. Again, I rather doubt this will be a make or break deal in hiring highly skilled candidates.
So, in your “Bay Area” comment certainly your are not positing that the tech industry grew out of the gay community in the Bay Area, are you? It’s likely that there might be a higher percentage of gays in the tech industry in the Bay Area because,well, there’s a higher percentage of gays in the candidate poll. But that doesn’t necessarily extrapolate nationally. Again, I say as you increase the candidate poll, (and I’m sure MS recruits beyond Seattle and the Bay Area) the percentage of people affected by MS’s policy likely reflect the national and WW numbers. Which is to say, is 3% or under (it’s NOT 10% as some are led to believe). So, in short MS caved to minority special interests. Which means they really didn’t care about ALL their people, only a select few.
Look, if MS wants to have that policy, fine. Let them. They are well within their rights to have whatever hiring policies they want. Nothing wrong with that. They should NOT, however, tell elected officials how they should vote, nor try to influence what other businesses’s policies should be.
@32 And yet investors have been unimpressed.. A LOT. Please tell me you aren’t taking credit for revenues and profits going up. Remind me again what product you were responsible for producing?
That “boo hoo! it will hurt recruiting” is a red herring. I pretty sure MS’s stance on social issues will not be a make or break deal between an offer from, say, Google and and offer from Microsoft for a potential hire.
And I’m not sure but I’d be willing to bet the % of people affected in MS, or even the tech industry are reflective of society. I mean, this isn’t the rag business, or the dance business. So, MS is appealing to special interest minority groups and not the larger company. Again, I rather doubt this will be a make or break deal in hiring highly skilled candidates.
So, in your “Bay Area” comment certainly your are not positing that the tech industry grew out of the gay community in the Bay Area, are you? It’s likely that there might be a higher percentage of gays in the tech industry in the Bay Area because,well, there’s a higher percentage of gays in the candidate poll. But that doesn’t necessarily extrapolate nationally. Again, I say as you increase the candidate poll, (and I’m sure MS recruits beyond Seattle and the Bay Area) the percentage of people affected by MS’s policy likely reflect the national and WW numbers. Which is to say, is 3% or under (it’s NOT 10% as some are led to believe). So, in short MS caved to minority special interests. Which means they really didn’t care about ALL their people, only a select few.
Look, if MS wants to have that policy, fine. Let them. They are well within their rights to have whatever hiring policies they want. Nothing wrong with that. They should NOT, however, tell elected officials how they should vote, nor try to influence what other businesses’s policies should be.
Robert, if MS had stayed out of this very hotly debated issue, my church would have been quiet as well, church mice..
If the legislature is so sure its what the people want, why are they too scared to let the people of this state vote on it? Is it possibly because no state to date has gotten approval thru the voting process to brand a lifestyle as needing extra protections? That’s a big yes indeedy.
And yes, I would say lobbyists are a total cancer to a republic..
But I agree with Dmad in the extreme; there are a bunch of bullies inside MS who think they can get their sympathetic legislature to roll over the public; and to that end, I hope those legislators have a short public life and will soon be voted out.
In fact, I think we can all but count on it in the next few elections here..
Robert, if MS had stayed out of this very hotly debated issue, my church would have been quiet as well, church mice..
If the legislature is so sure its what the people want, why are they too scared to let the people of this state vote on it? Is it possibly because no state to date has gotten approval thru the voting process to brand a lifestyle as needing extra protections? That’s a big yes indeedy.
And yes, I would say lobbyists are a total cancer to a republic..
But I agree with Dmad in the extreme; there are a bunch of bullies inside MS who think they can get their sympathetic legislature to roll over the public; and to that end, I hope those legislators have a short public life and will soon be voted out.
In fact, I think we can all but count on it in the next few elections here..
oh, and p.s. ..
our church has about 3500 members, not 2000.
like Hutch keeps saying, when you step into our world, we have every right to step into yours… right?
i feel 100% sure that Antioch did not go looking for this particular fight. The Gay & Lesbian Advocates have been trying to force this on the public for more than 2 decades. The public is under no obligation to tolerate a lifestyle they dont agree with.
Therein lies the problem; you cannot and will never be able, to force the public to accept or tolerate a lifestyle they dont approve of. Not even legislation will do it .. but if the advocates inside of MS who whined to Balmer that they werent getting all the special protections they deemed necessary were really interested in what the public thinks, and not forcing themselves on the rest of us, then they should put it to a vote.
what is the problem with that?
oh, and p.s. ..
our church has about 3500 members, not 2000.
like Hutch keeps saying, when you step into our world, we have every right to step into yours… right?
i feel 100% sure that Antioch did not go looking for this particular fight. The Gay & Lesbian Advocates have been trying to force this on the public for more than 2 decades. The public is under no obligation to tolerate a lifestyle they dont agree with.
Therein lies the problem; you cannot and will never be able, to force the public to accept or tolerate a lifestyle they dont approve of. Not even legislation will do it .. but if the advocates inside of MS who whined to Balmer that they werent getting all the special protections they deemed necessary were really interested in what the public thinks, and not forcing themselves on the rest of us, then they should put it to a vote.
what is the problem with that?
To lauri:
You can open up the public’s mind about ideas though and help them understand that gay and lesbian people are good people, who just have different urges.
f like gay marriage (otherwise the bush a
Back in the days of the past, many people thought that being a working woman was an “unacceptable lifestyle”, that women voting was unacceptable or even that a world where blacks and whites are equal was “unacceptable”. Yet those who believe in the cause of equality and equal rights ‘forced’ themselves on the public and made the public understand that they were just humans who deserved the same rights as majority.
I would also like to point out that there isn’t any such solid majority you speak of on stufdmin would have been able to pass all the bills they wanted to ban it).
To lauri:
You can open up the public’s mind about ideas though and help them understand that gay and lesbian people are good people, who just have different urges.
f like gay marriage (otherwise the bush a
Back in the days of the past, many people thought that being a working woman was an “unacceptable lifestyle”, that women voting was unacceptable or even that a world where blacks and whites are equal was “unacceptable”. Yet those who believe in the cause of equality and equal rights ‘forced’ themselves on the public and made the public understand that they were just humans who deserved the same rights as majority.
I would also like to point out that there isn’t any such solid majority you speak of on stufdmin would have been able to pass all the bills they wanted to ban it).
“Huh? Name one thing that Longhorn would have let you do that Vista doesn’t let you do.”
Ummmmm… WinFS!??!?!
“Huh? Name one thing that Longhorn would have let you do that Vista doesn’t let you do.”
Ummmmm… WinFS!??!?!
I’m no techie, but didn’t Kazaa effectively mutate into Skype?
I’m no techie, but didn’t Kazaa effectively mutate into Skype?
“The public is under no obligation to TOLERATE a lifestyle they dont agree with.” (My emphasis.) — What country are you living in?
“The public is under no obligation to TOLERATE a lifestyle they dont agree with.” (My emphasis.) — What country are you living in?
Robert – As a serial entrepreneur pre-MS, I can tell you that the MS experience is extremely valuable for someone coming out of school. A person can’t understand a large organization, bureaucracy, or how to work with large companies without being on the inside for awhile.
Granted, there are some negatives: unnecessary process, huge delta between MS haves/have nots, inability to make life-changing money without putting in a decade or more, etc. However, it’s a badge that helps make someone more well rounded and ultimately more valuable to future employers or new ventures.
It makes a lot of sense so long as a person can keep everything in perspective and make the leap when he/she is ready…as you have.
Robert – As a serial entrepreneur pre-MS, I can tell you that the MS experience is extremely valuable for someone coming out of school. A person can’t understand a large organization, bureaucracy, or how to work with large companies without being on the inside for awhile.
Granted, there are some negatives: unnecessary process, huge delta between MS haves/have nots, inability to make life-changing money without putting in a decade or more, etc. However, it’s a badge that helps make someone more well rounded and ultimately more valuable to future employers or new ventures.
It makes a lot of sense so long as a person can keep everything in perspective and make the leap when he/she is ready…as you have.
@45. A free country. Did Germany tolerate Nazism? Did Eastern Europe tolerate Communism? If the majority of the public disagrees with a lifestyle or way of life (don’t get me wrong, I’m not equating those that choose to publized their sexual lifestyle with the above) they are well within their rights to not tolerate it. Hell, the US was founded because a large number of people didn’t tolerate religious oppression.
@45. A free country. Did Germany tolerate Nazism? Did Eastern Europe tolerate Communism? If the majority of the public disagrees with a lifestyle or way of life (don’t get me wrong, I’m not equating those that choose to publized their sexual lifestyle with the above) they are well within their rights to not tolerate it. Hell, the US was founded because a large number of people didn’t tolerate religious oppression.
Dmad: according to my family who grew up in Nazi Germany, yes, most people DID tolerate Nazism. That’s why I stand up for minorities in our society so much. The majority often behaves like assholes toward minorities.
Dmad: according to my family who grew up in Nazi Germany, yes, most people DID tolerate Nazism. That’s why I stand up for minorities in our society so much. The majority often behaves like assholes toward minorities.
@42. Well, marriage is not a right, otherwise I wouldn’t need the state to endorse it.
As for your women and race examples the diffence there is one cannot choose their race or gender. Now I’m sure this will get us way off the rails, but until someone can definitively prove the existence of a homosexual gene, or can explain Anne Heche or bi-sexuality, many will remain unconvinced that one is not choosing to live thet lifestyle.
Still I’m curious why the gay community feels the need to where their sexual preferences on their sleeve? I mean, I can’t remember the last time I saw a “Straight Pride” parade, can you? In a way I feel that by advertising their sexual preferences they bring some if this on themselves. I could care less what one does in their bedroom, why to gays thinks it’s anyone business?
But to bring this back to the original point, given that MS seems to have a rather vocal internal lobbying group in the form of the “GLEAM” group, based on the email BusinessWeek published, and that this issue had apparently been on the table for a number of times in Washington in the past, I find it hard to believe that group was not already exercising its influence on Ballmer and thus find it lacking any credibility other than Scoble’s own inflated ego that he was the catalyst in causing Ballmer to roll over (no pun intended)
@42. Well, marriage is not a right, otherwise I wouldn’t need the state to endorse it.
As for your women and race examples the diffence there is one cannot choose their race or gender. Now I’m sure this will get us way off the rails, but until someone can definitively prove the existence of a homosexual gene, or can explain Anne Heche or bi-sexuality, many will remain unconvinced that one is not choosing to live thet lifestyle.
Still I’m curious why the gay community feels the need to where their sexual preferences on their sleeve? I mean, I can’t remember the last time I saw a “Straight Pride” parade, can you? In a way I feel that by advertising their sexual preferences they bring some if this on themselves. I could care less what one does in their bedroom, why to gays thinks it’s anyone business?
But to bring this back to the original point, given that MS seems to have a rather vocal internal lobbying group in the form of the “GLEAM” group, based on the email BusinessWeek published, and that this issue had apparently been on the table for a number of times in Washington in the past, I find it hard to believe that group was not already exercising its influence on Ballmer and thus find it lacking any credibility other than Scoble’s own inflated ego that he was the catalyst in causing Ballmer to roll over (no pun intended)
Oh, Dmad, you can’t be serious, can you? Every day is heterosexual day out in public. Yesterday when I was down in Seattle with Buzz I saw couples holding hands, kissing, lying together on the grass.
We make a HUGE display of heterosexual behavior. Ever been to Las Vegas? Why are there dozens of marriage chapels?
And we get a little upset when homosexuals throw a parade or fly a flag? Give me a break.
Oh, Dmad, you can’t be serious, can you? Every day is heterosexual day out in public. Yesterday when I was down in Seattle with Buzz I saw couples holding hands, kissing, lying together on the grass.
We make a HUGE display of heterosexual behavior. Ever been to Las Vegas? Why are there dozens of marriage chapels?
And we get a little upset when homosexuals throw a parade or fly a flag? Give me a break.
Dmad: a little known fact. My boss at the time was, and is, a member of the church that was pressuring Microsoft to change its stance.
So, taking that stand was certainly not a smart career move to make. Luckily I worked for a boss that separated his beliefs from his business decisions. But I didn’t know that for sure before making that post.
Dmad: a little known fact. My boss at the time was, and is, a member of the church that was pressuring Microsoft to change its stance.
So, taking that stand was certainly not a smart career move to make. Luckily I worked for a boss that separated his beliefs from his business decisions. But I didn’t know that for sure before making that post.
Robert,
I find this all truly fascinating. You will not have the discussion of a vote, will you? You simply cannot allow the public to voice its opinion on something YOU think we should all accept.
I can tolerate a number of things I dont approve of, but when one section of society deems they need “special protections” that the rest of us dont get, then yes, its an issue.
Gays in America are not being forced to sit in the back of the busses and never have been. Give me a break – they get a social pass on pretty much everything.
As for pride parades? Show me where heteros walk naked down any city street (I’ve lived all over the country – Ive seen it) and expect everyone else to just shut up.
Why are you so reluctant to allow the public to vote…? Can you answer that question?
As for Antioch, the church got involved AFTER the fact. And why is it a problem for a church to have an opinion on a political matter? There is actually no separation rule, although lefties for decades have been saying there is.
The Constitution states: Congress shall make no law intituting a state religion. But churches are more than welcome to have opinions; churches are not barred from this behavior.
Granted, since their opinion doesnt match up with yours, they are automatically wrong?
But still, answer my question about putting it to a public vote – if youre able.
Robert,
I find this all truly fascinating. You will not have the discussion of a vote, will you? You simply cannot allow the public to voice its opinion on something YOU think we should all accept.
I can tolerate a number of things I dont approve of, but when one section of society deems they need “special protections” that the rest of us dont get, then yes, its an issue.
Gays in America are not being forced to sit in the back of the busses and never have been. Give me a break – they get a social pass on pretty much everything.
As for pride parades? Show me where heteros walk naked down any city street (I’ve lived all over the country – Ive seen it) and expect everyone else to just shut up.
Why are you so reluctant to allow the public to vote…? Can you answer that question?
As for Antioch, the church got involved AFTER the fact. And why is it a problem for a church to have an opinion on a political matter? There is actually no separation rule, although lefties for decades have been saying there is.
The Constitution states: Congress shall make no law intituting a state religion. But churches are more than welcome to have opinions; churches are not barred from this behavior.
Granted, since their opinion doesnt match up with yours, they are automatically wrong?
But still, answer my question about putting it to a public vote – if youre able.
The United States seems alone among constitutional democracies in its inability to see the dangers of subjecting minority rights to majority votes. It seems impossible to eradicate the myth that people should be punished, e.g., by being fired from a job, because others disapprove of them. Adherents are curiously willing to use 21st-century technologies like blogging, and 20th-century methods like lobbying, to perpetuate a philosophy that seems nothing more than medieval.
Seen at a purely pragmatic level, if you run a business in a state that’s hostile to minorities, even to minorities you think justly and properly deserve hostility, your business is gonna suffer. Deservedly.
The United States seems alone among constitutional democracies in its inability to see the dangers of subjecting minority rights to majority votes. It seems impossible to eradicate the myth that people should be punished, e.g., by being fired from a job, because others disapprove of them. Adherents are curiously willing to use 21st-century technologies like blogging, and 20th-century methods like lobbying, to perpetuate a philosophy that seems nothing more than medieval.
Seen at a purely pragmatic level, if you run a business in a state that’s hostile to minorities, even to minorities you think justly and properly deserve hostility, your business is gonna suffer. Deservedly.