Microsoft in Silicon Valley
I moved back to the Valley this summer. I spent most of the fall in Redmond (and in the air), however, preparing for PDC. With the holiday’s falling after that, I am just now getting my footing working from Silicon Valley.
When I first worked here in 1999, I recall the reaction when I told people I worked for Microsoft. It was less than ideal. 11 years later, the tone is different. I credit Dan’l Lewin and the presence of a campus here with helping to moderate and improve the perception of Microsoft in the Valley.
Over the past month, I have begun to meet with a few technical leaders in the Valley to discuss things Microsoft and my team in particular are working on. I don’t sense disdain, just indifference. As a result, I believe we miss out on the opportunity to participate in many of the technical conversations that permeate the Valley.
I am committed to changing that, in my own small way. Microsoft has both the ability and the responsibility to work with the technical community here to advance the state of the art. I am looking forward to it…