The geek in question: Sean Daniel
The job title: Senior Program Manager, Home and Small Business Server

How did you get here?
I was asked to join the company while I was locked out of my town home in frosty Ontario Canada.

Ok, the longer version is that a few friends and I decided to work for Microsoft, even if it was as janitorial job. I applied for a few Internships while I was in my 3rd year at college.

At the time, Microsoft only hired 4th year students, so in my 4th year, I had an interview on campus with the GM of Small Business Server. During my 45 minute interview, I was asked to design a webpage for selling cars online.

I did and was asked what the most important part of the website was, and I said the UI, then defended my position and got my first of two internships. I found out after the interview what Small Business Server (SBS) was and realized I was trying to build that exact product in my basement.

After completing my internships, I joined the SBS team and have been here ever since.

What are you working on right now?
I’m a core Feature PM for the Home and Small Business Server team. Our team builds Windows Home Server and Windows Small Business Server. I’m a core technical PM that dives into the networking functionality and designs how it works on both products.

Tell me about your office and your commute.
Last year I was granted an opportunity to work out of my home. I was shocked that Microsoft would offer this kind of flexibility to let me work on the products that I love while at the same time living with my wife … always important right?

I continue to work my similar hours as I did when I lived in Redmond, but now I have no commute. To keep in touch, I take a float-plane to the Redmond main campus for a week/month. It’s always fun to show up on Monday morning at 10am and show your co-workers pictures of your commute across the Juan De Fuca straight and the Olympic Mountains.

Chico wants to hear all about the float plane ride.

What are your passions outside of MSFT?
Outside of Microsoft, I am an avid photographer, and soccer player, and I like to spend a heck of a lot of time with my little Chihuahua, Chico.

How do you integrate those passions into your MSFT work?
It’s an interesting mix for sure. I think that any competitive sport integrates well with Microsoft. Having the drive to win, and the tenacity to keep at it is definitely something that I find valuable in my day to day work.

And as a photographer, I force myself to look at the world differently. I try to obtain shots that aren’t seen every day, having this sort of creativity helps with design of features and thinking about problems differently in an attempt to bring more compelling features to the customers.

What’s surprised you about working here?
When I joined the company back in 2000, what surprised me about working at Microsoft was how fun everyone was. There were video games after-hours (sometimes at lunch) and people taking breaks by running through the hallways with hockey sticks, or my favorite; actually dry walling someone’s office to be 1/8th the size and cutting out the window.

But what surprised me even more, amidst all this fun and excitement, are some very dedicated employees who want to provide the best software. My co-workers at Microsoft are some of the most dedicated people I have ever worked with when it comes to designing, coding and testing the products, coming in early or staying late to get it done, and done right.

Links:
* Sean’s blog
* Sean’s photoblog

Last week the blogosphere was abuzz with the fact that Microsoft is now hiring folks to work at its two new stores — this week I had the chance to chat with one of the ‘Softies responsible for making those hires.

Cheryl gets acclimated to Scottsdale, as the patio chairs look on in the background

The geek in question: Cheryl Hibbard
The job title: Store Manager of the Microsoft Store in Scottsdale, AZ

What are you working on right now?
The largest and most important task for me now is hiring the best talent for the new Microsoft store opening in Scottsdale. I have only been in the Scottsdale area for a week now and meeting such wonderful and talented people in the community has been fun and rewarding. I feel very fortunate to meet such amazing people!

What are the key traits you’re looking for?
Since we have several roles that will be in the stores — like technical support, trainers, sales team and a sales support team — product knowledge along with a customer focus background is crucial in team building.

Also, with this being the very first store for Microsoft, it’s also critical that everyone is flexible and willing to share ideas and concerns… it will help Microsoft make future stores better by what they learn from us.

Apply now for Microsoft Store jobs in Mission Vallejo, CA and Scottsdale, AZ. And yes, these are full-time Microsoft employee jobs — with all those infamous Microsoft benefits!

Are you excited about what you’re doing?
One of the greatest gifts I feel we are going to provide for Scottsdale and surrounding areas is the ability to offer full time positions to many people who might be suffering in this economic time. What a great way to immediately embrace a community who has been impacted heavily and add support to the people here.

How long have you been at Microsoft?
Literally a month! Since the retail division is so new, my first month has been filled with logistical and operational decisions to help our stores get off to a great start.

There are some folks who just looooooove to hate on Microsoft – are you worried you’re going to have to deal with some of these people at the new store?
Our stores will give Microsoft a way to express what we do RIGHT. Our employees will be able to showcase our products in a way that’s never been done before. We may always have skeptics — but our job in the Retail stores is to provide a welcoming environment where everyone is welcome to learn more about our products and how to use them to benefit their life.

Do you feel like, managing the Microsoft store, you’ll be acting as a “face of Microsoft”? Is that daunting?
I envision my employees being a representation of Microsoft in every way through offering our customers a breadth of knowledge, a fun atmosphere to spend time in, as well as a place to find solutions to their needs. My outlook is that’s it’s a new adventure!

What’s surprised you about working here?
When I learned that Steve Ballmer takes the shuttles like everyone else, I said to myself, “This company is for me!”

Links to learn more:

• CNET’s story about the new stores
• Look at available jobs and apply!

So, I know you write for Office Online — but you also have a comic strip called Office OFFline. How did that get started?
It was almost a dare. In 2007, one of my coworkers sent out an article about using comics for instructional material. I thought it was kind of cool, and decided to make a little comic just for fun, and emailed it to a few folks. People laughed, so I made another one. Within a week I had like 30 people on the little distribution list who wanted to see the comic.

At that point, I realized that maybe people besides Microsofties might find it humorous, so I started posting the comics on MSDN.

When I first started doing it, we had these goals that we thought were outrageous — I was hoping to maybe get maybe a thousand views in a month. Nowadays I’m getting like a thousand a day, so it’s way exceeded the expectations.

One of David's comics -- click to view full size!

So, is Office OFFline your job?
No, no. It’s a total side project. I think I worked it into my job commitments as a way to “experiment with alternative forms of communication, find ways to build engagement with readers,” those kind of business-y things.

Tell me a bit then about your real job then.
I create content for Office Online — that used to mean articles, but now we’re finding that templates, training, clipart, and video especially are more popular. About half the content I’m doing these days is video. I’m writing and reviewing scripts for videos that haven’t been published yet.

So, you’re a screenwriter now?
A wannabe, maybe.

What have you learned from Office OFFline that you’re bringing into your real job with Office Online?
Well, I’ve learned that humor is a great way to engage the reader. I’ve also learned from watching my web stats that the comic generates pretty strong loyalty. Something like 40 percent of my visitors are repeat visits. And then at least half the comics generate some sort of comment, which is another thing we’re trying to do.

So, the comic has become your sandbox?
Right. It’s also a great way to learn about humor and what people find funny and what resonates, and how to say certain things without sounding like a corporate PR person.

David on a couch I call The Big Yellow Jellybean

What’s surprised you about Office OFFline?
The fact that people thought it was funny was sort of surprising. The favorite comment I get is, “I can’t believe Microsoft is letting you do this.” The people I work with are hilarious. I forget that the outside world thinks of us as the evil empire or the evil Borg.

Photo by me, thought bubble by David

But after I started working here, I started realizing how great the culture is.

When I started doing my comic, I looked around to see if there was an Apple employee doing a comic, or an IBM employee, or somebody else in the industry. And there just wasn’t. I think it’s awesome that at Microsoft, we can do stuff like this.

The comic could have crashed and burned — all my old Mac friends could have come to my blog just to trash it. It hasn’t happened, and people seem to sort of get a kick that it’s from Microsoft.

What was your response to the Google Chrome comic?
I had a chance to meet Scott McCloud, the creator of that comic, which is a huge thing for me, because I’ve been a fan ever since I read his books, Making Comics and Understanding Comics.

We were at a conference and he was the keynote speaker, and somebody actually asked Scott if he’d seen Office OFFline … and he hadn’t. So, I took the opportunity to introduce myself afterwards.

I actually wish I had done the Microsoft equivalent of the Chrome Comic — I sort of missed out by not pushing the edge farther.

Let’s push the edge with some links!
• Office Online: office.microsoft.com
• Office OFFline: blogs.msdn.com/officeoffline
• Office OFFline on Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Office-OFFline/24533016984
• David’s how-to on making a comic strip with Visio

I mentioned a while back that a HUGE chunk of my time over the last year has gone into the new Microsoft Global Careers Site, which launched earlier this week at microsoft.com/careers.

I coordinated profiles and photos for the site, assuming this would mean coordinating other people’s photos … but when the creative agency started mocking up the pages, they kept including shots from Microspotting. At first I just thought aww, they’re using my stuff as filler! but then I realized they were actually recommending using my photography on the site. Ultimately a ton of my photos went onto microsoft.com/careers, which has me tickled pink. I’m a writer … but now I guess I’m a corporate photographer too!? Talk about unexpected career development, jeez.

The global landing page of the new site features the faces of ton of Microspotting greatest hits profilees — and I figured I’d point ‘em all out to y’all…

Click here to pop open a big version of the image with everyone labeled … and then click the links below to relive the profiles: The Golden Helmet, Shayna, Raymond, Russ, Abbott, Amir, Aradia, Hoop (although I didn’t take that photo), Alex, Jennifer, Megan, Jeff, Fola, Suzanne, Michael, Latika, Charles, Sumit, Miguel, and Zeke.

Thanks to all my profilees for allowing me to pimp their faces all over the place … you look MAHVALOUS!

The geek in question: Dona Sarkar
The job title: Test Lead in Windows Experience (WEX)

With Windows 7 on the horizon, it must be super crazy, exciting time for your team right now.
It is so exciting. In all my years in industry I’ve never felt this kind of excitement or pride in my work before. So, it’s wonderful, yeah.

So, you’re a Test Lead, but I also understand you’re an author of Young Adult fiction? How’d that happen?
I went to school at the University of Michigan, and I studied computer science. Computer science was challenging, it was fun, it was a huge learning experience, but all my writing classes, literature, creative writing, that sort of thing all came very naturally to me. So, I split my time and got a minor in English

When I moved out to the West Coast to start working as a dev, I started taking creative arts classes at Bellevue Community College, including fiction writing. In that class, I started writing my first novel.

It was awful… Didn’t have a name, had no plot, and it was almost like a diary. But I learned how to create a beginning, middle, and an end of a story, and that was huge for me. People ask me, “How do you write a novel?” and the answer is you write a novel. The first novel is the best teaching tool you can have, more than going to any class or reading any book or attending any conference or talking to anybody is to write that novel, because you know what works, what doesn’t work.

But then I wrote a second novel and a third and a fourth, and along the way I got an agent, and my first young adult novel was published in 2005! Now I have a “software by day/young adult fiction by night” persona.

Tell me this: how is Microsoft like a high school setting in a young adult novel?
Well, there’s a lot of angst about things that may not seem very important a year from now. In both cases, you’re stuck with certain group of people. You know each other really well, you see each other every day, and there can be some internal drama.

You’re all trying to achieve the same goals — in young adult novels it’s often graduating high school, but at Microsoft we’re all trying to do the same goal of shipping a product. There are people who you can trust with anything, there are people who you may be wary of. Just like high school!

And you’re bound by constraints. In high school it’s your parents or your peer group, and at work it’s time, energy, resources. We’re older, we’re supposed to be more responsible.

Speaking of responsibility, what’s it like testing for such a hugely visible product?
People ask me, “Do you feel like you make an impact?” And I say yes, my work impacts a billion people! Not many people can say that. There just aren’t that many professions in the world where people can say “I affect a billion people.” It’s just the coolest feeling in the entire world.

Dona's enviable shoes, because shoes totally relate to work-life balance issues.

What’s your favorite hidden Microsoft benefit?
Mentoring. When I first started here, I realized I need a mentor, because I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I tried contacted a friend of a friend of a friend — someone who was pretty senior.

She immediately responded, “Schedule some time! Come on over!” It was amazing. We’ve been mentor/mentee for almost four years now. It’s just amazing that someone who doesn’t know me, has no obvious benefit to helping me, would, just because they want to give back to the community that grew them.

How do you feel about work/life balance?
I said this in my Channel 9 interview — but my work is my life. I know it’s not a very popular thing to say these days, your life should be full of moments that you look back and you remember and say, wow, that was awesome. For me, 90 percent of those have been at this job. Some of the best times I’ve ever had in my adult life have been at this company on this team.

I don’t ever have work-life balance issues, because life is work, work is life, that’s just what it is for me. Work/life integration is probably one of the greatest benefits we have here —we, as employees can define it however we want.

Links:
• Windows 7 Homepage
• Dona’s Channel 9 Interview
• Dona’s Author Page
• Book 1: How To Salsa in a Sari
• Book 2: Shrink to Fit

What gets Mario out of bed in the morning? It's not martinis and cover songs!

The geek in question: Mario Guzzi
The job title: Senior Test Lead, Microsoft Expression Blend

Tell me a bit about what you’re working on.
I work on Microsoft Expression Blend, which is a tool that enables designers to build rich user experiences on top of different platforms such as Silverlight and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). It is Microsoft’s first attempt to engage seriously with the designers of the world.

People haven’t always had nice things to say about Microsoft’s design values. Do you feel like your team is changing that?
This is what gets me out of bed in the morning: the opportunity to actually give designers a new kind of opportunity. In the software development cycle, designers aren’t necessarily first class citizens, and our tools, paired up with the platform, enables them to become an active participant in the development process. I want designers to be able to do the creative work that they want to on user experiences, and not be tied to the hands of a developer interpreting their work and trying to understand why different color schemas or fonts are important.

I’ve started to see new jobs appearing — like a new set of skill sets for designers, new roles being developed that involve Expression. It’s super exciting to feel that you have an opportunity to build tools that will enable other people to do their jobs.

When you were nominated to be Microspotting, a team member described you as a rock star. What’s up with that?
Well, I have two passions. One is software, and second is music, and I play in a band. So, we’ve been playing live lately. I play rock, but I’m not a star.

How do you integrate your musician side into your tester job?
There are a whole bunch of musicians in the team, and we actually have this thing where on Fridays we get together in someone’s office with a pretty good setup of mixers and mics, and we drink martinis and play cover songs.

So, you’re telling me if I come by this Friday tomorrow there would be martinis and cover songs?
Officially I could not reveal the undisclosed location, but yes somewhere here. Just follow the music.

How long have you been at Microsoft, and how did you get here?
I’ve been at Microsoft almost 10 years. It’s going to be 10 years in October. I got hired back in ‘99 from Argentina, which is where I’m originally from. I was just about to graduate, and I never imagined that I could get a job like this. I would have come even if it was to park cars; it didn’t matter for me. An opportunity like this was not to be passed.

What’s kept you here all these years?
The culture allows you not to be defined by your title. The impact you have is not defined by the level or the stage in your career. That’s just kick-ass.

What’s your favorite little-known benefit?
The Prime Card. You get lots of discounts, but one hidden gem is all the super fancy restaurants where you can get an entree for free. Every Friday is Prime night, and I go tasting all the different restaurants. Yeah, it’s awesome.

What’s surprised you about working for Microsoft?
The opportunities. When I look back, I could have never imagined that a South American kid that didn’t go to like a big university could end up having a somewhat important job and the opportunity to make a change on a product that’s making a difference. It’s just mind-boggling for me.

And I think what I love about this company is that you have the opportunity to have an impact. And that surprised me, and continues to do so. As you change roles or you change teams or products, there are different opportunities, but the opportunity is always there, and that’s something that I value.

Rock star links:
• Product website: microsoft.com/expression
Team blog: expression.microsoft.com
Mario’s band: yetanotherenemy.com

The geek in question: Gladys Kenfack
Title: Senior Marketing Manager, Unlimited Potential Group

I know a bit about Unlimited Potential, and it seems like one of those amazing programs that speaks for itself — what kind of marketing do you need to do?
Microsoft Unlimited Potential is the company’s initiative that enables sustained, social and economic opportunity for everyone with an emphasis in emerging markets. I’m responsible for the digital and social media marketing of UP programs and products.

What were you doing before this?
I was a software engineer here at Microsoft. I wrote and tested code, and mostly worked on the production side. I didn’t interact much with marketing, and so when I switched to this position, I thought, okay, moving to the un-geeky side of the company. But within UP we also cool develop technologies for emerging markets, and my technical background gives me an edge in understanding the technical architecture and value of our products to our customers.

So, I understand you were profiled in Marie Claire, which is sort of the anti-technical publication. As a tech industry person, what was it like to be interviewed for a froofy fashion magazine?
It was a great opportunity for me to share the great work that Unlimited Potential does in a very natural and simple way. I didn’t have to talk about algorithms or code – it was very relaxed. The most interesting part was that photo shoot … it took three hours and really emphasized that being a techie and being a model are two very different career paths; but I was glad to be able to cross them both.

…Sounds harder than a technical publication, in some ways! So, how long have you been with Microsoft, and how did you get here?
I’m going to my sixth year at Microsoft. I attended Brigham Young University where I received my undergraduate degree in Computer Science. I am from Cameroon in West Africa and my primary reason for coming to the U.S. was to be able to learn technology and use it to improve lives in Africa.

So, are you heading back to Cameroon at some point?
Oh, definitely, yeah. It could be as a Microsoft ambassador, or working for Microsoft in the field. But I want to be able to help make a difference back home because I believe that technology has the power to help solve some of Africa’s toughest problems – like health and education.

What are you’re doing when you’re not plotting to save the world?
When not at work, I keep myself very busy. I play a few sports like tennis and Soccer and I run frequently. I volunteer in a few local non profits, and am also part of a cultural dance group that promotes African dance and culture in the Puget Sound area. I grew up aspiring to be an opera singer and for the past 15 years, I have been singing in local choirs and taking voice lessons. I enjoy cooking and entertaining friends as well.

Sounds like you’re saving the world in your spare time, too!
I’m one of those people who is always working a project … it’s something that makes me happy. Luckily, many of my personal projects overlap with my professional interests, so I don’t actually view lot at a lot of what I do as work.

Links links links…
* Unlimited Potential: microsoft.com/up
* Become a Fan of UP on facebook: facebook.com/microsoftup
* Follow UP on Twitter: twitter.com/microsoftup
* Check out our World Update Blog – blogs.technet.com/unlimitedpotential/

So, you’re an acquisition employee. How’d that feel?
I founded a company called Seadragon in 2003 and we were around for only a couple of years before we were acquired. I think we had around 14 employees when Microsoft acquired us.

What was that like then, going from a little team that you started of 12-14 people, to being absorbed by —
The Borg. Going from a start-up to working at Microsoft was a huge, huge step. I think the lowest point was at New Employee Orientation. I have to admit that a few of us Seadragon employees were basically throwing spitballs in the back of the room. We were totally bad kids, to the point where the guy running orientation actually separated us.

So, what are you working on now?
Well, summer of 2008 Photosynth moved over from a Live Labs incubation to become a part of the MSN world, and in particular Virtual Earth. Photosynth and Virtual Earth are like peanut butter and chocolate.

At the same time, I was recruited to become the new architect of Virtual Earth … but then suddenly the job became Architect of MSN, because MSN swallowed up Virtual Earth. That was a bit of a shock.

Welcome to management!
Exactly. Welcome to management, hide your socks.

Any principles guiding your work with MSN?
I don’t think Microsoft has prioritized design the way it’s needed to, and one of my big crusades is to try and change that. I’m not alone there. There is a whole generation of people now who are really pushing design at Microsoft.

Does it feel sometimes like turning a big boat around?
Yes, very much. It’s huge, the inertias are incalculable. Especially in my new role I’ve really been feeling the big barge effect.

So this may be sort of an enlarged question, do you feel like in your work with Photosynth and now MSN, you’re defining the future of the Internet?
Yes.

… And now you’re thinking, “Uh, this guy seemed reasonable…” but some of the work we’re doing is world changing. That’s the point.

Any of us who read science fiction as kids, or still read it, know that there are certain things that are coming just around the corner … and Microsoft is really a part of that. It’s one of the things that I love about that Office Labs vision video — there’s nothing in that video that isn’t in MSR or elsewhere in the company now. It’s all happening. This is not Jetsons stuff. This is the reality of 5 to 10 years from now.

I can’t wait. Anything else you’d like to add about working Microsoft?
Look, in some ways it sucks. It sucks that I’m in meetings all day, that I sometimes have my entire day divided into continuous meetings.

And it sucks that so much of my job is now about writing e-mail.

It sucks that I can’t get to the coding part until 9:30 when my kids are in bed.

I got used to working in Microsoft’s Pioneer Square office in Downtown Seattle, and it sucks that now I work in Redmond. I had to buy an espresso machine for my office, while in Seattle there were four excellent coffee shops within three blocks.

…But what keeps me happy, and what makes me not feel like okay, my handcuffs are expired, I’m looking around now, is that I feel like we really do have the chance to do something that is going to be totally world changing. I’m also getting to work with some of the most talented, ambitious coders and researchers in the business, hands down. It’d be really hard for a startup to attract this kind of talent.

So, okay it’s worth it. It’s all worth it for that.

Links?
• Fast Company names Blaise as one of the 100 most create people of 2009
• photosynth.com
• Blaise’s infamous TED talk about PhotoSynth
• maps.live.com