Continuing the jolly religious theme, we have Hugh my long time friend at GapingVoid getting into the big Microsoft Beast. Blue Monster indeed, and I am happy for Hugh that he may have another major gig coming up. So I have some words of advice, being used to this kind of organisation, in my life with SAP.
"Run Away, Run Away before they eat you! Behind you! Run faster!"
Just kidding. But I notice that Hugh's participation has caused the old rock and roll discussion of "sell-out" to rise up. Apparently it is OK to be an expert on communication, and how to form a network, as long as you are not working for The Man, and in the case of the Internet, M$ is The Man, no doubt, with the possible exception of the MAFIAA. (RIAA, MPAA, etc.)
I would take the consolation offered by Scott Adams, the author of Dilbert.
"It is not possible to get to over-exposed without going through filthy rich first."
Which, reading it, puts me instinctively in the sell-out crowd. Stallman would not be so callow.
I have noticed that when faced with the reasonable side of large organisations, i.e. the smart and nice people that work in them, preconceptions can buckle. Hugh likes the people at Microsoft, and Sig likes the people at SAP, and vice versa.
So, that raises the interesting question, what is the driver for otherwise reasonable elements, e.g. the individual people, to become perceived as big faceless and ruthless corporations? I would also be interested to see what Hugh could possibly do to reset the internal culture at MS, which has been struggling recently with the lukewarm reception of its key products, and also to perhaps to change, even to some extent, the external impressions.
We shall see, and I am sure that it will be a good experience for all concerned.
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