MiKandi

Congrats Suby and his team on launching this video:

10 Reasons I’m Going to Cloudstock on Dec. 6th

Cloudstock, an all day event for developers focused on developing in the cloud, will welcome a large number of thought leaders and business leaders in the cloud as sponsors and presenters! Cloudstock is on the day before salesforce.com’s annual user conference, Dreamforce.

As a sponsor of Dreamforce, we’re busy gearing up by creating new samples, developing a new integration with a key partner and creating new presentations to show how developers can use electronic signatures in the Cloud. While the pressure will escalate up to the very last minute, we’re setting aside the last day before Dreamforce for Cloudstock.

The top 10 reasons the DocuSign technical evangelists are taking a full day for Cloudstock:

1. John Musser’s evaluation of the Cloud API landscape: John and the entire ProgrammableWeb team keep their hands on the pulse on most of the web services – we’re looking forward to a big picture view.
2. Session from Box.net’s Hieu Nguyen and Jeremy Glassenberg: Sometimes we get so caught up in the web services that it’s good when an expert like Jeremy steps out and shares a holistic approach to integration. You will definitely see me at the “Connecting Services Inside & Out: Thinking Outside the API” session.
3. Dave Carroll’s deep dive into using the Force.com database: Accessing Force.com database through the web services has been on my “to-learn” list for some time. Who better to get an overview of Force.com technology from, than Dave?
4. Learning about the interests of the PHP community: Many PHP programmers have joined the DocuSign developer program and it looks like Amazon has invested into showing how PHP can be used on their Amazon Web Services platform. I’d like to see what kind of questions interest the PHP community.
5. Insights from Google: Google will discuss the Google Marketplace and since we just launched an e-Signature Marketplace, I’d love to hear what guys at Google pitch to their potential and existing software developers.
6. Amazing demos: I’ve heard about Twilio’s amazing presentations, and though I personally have not touched phone technologies in ten years I am curious to see John Sheehan create solutions on stage right in front of the audience.
7. Hackathons: I love hackathons; and while I am not the fastest coder, I enjoy seeing what other people can come up with in a short time. I also like to think that it’s just great to be in the running.
8. Java + Force.com: I always loved Java. I enjoyed being part of the Java Community Process 10 years ago and defining some of the interfaces. The ability to use Java with Force.com is an amazing combination of winning technologies. VMForce.com is a promising solution for our customers and partners; I need to see what it’s all about.
9. Networking! I am a natural networker – I like meeting new people especially if they are sharp and have good ideas! My first job ever was handing out flyers for my dad’s vet clinic at a dog show – ever since, going to expos and meeting people in the industry always puts a smile on my face. Cloudstock will be great for that.
10. Someone mentioned there will be food… I just want to let everyone know that it still works, even years after college.

See you all at Cloudstock! Look for the DocuSign DevCenter team – Mike Borozdin, Julia Ferraioli, Craig Smith and Veronica Lentfer.

Creating a startup culture within Google and Microsoft

When I left Microsoft at the exit interview I told them that the major reason I chose a startup over them is because I am an overachiever.

I was expecting that they'd try to drill into that and figure out how to keep the overachievers at Microsoft... they didn't. They HR person told me that I wasn't alone.

Big tech companies never figured out how to keep talented engineers on staff. They recognize some of them as "principal architects" or something similar, but it's generally given to people who were there for a while. With the current pay packages of base and stock options they can't possibly give everyone an opportunity to earn millions so they are OK targeting 66th percentile of talent.

I think to resolve this issue the tech industry has to look at the financial industry. Through bonuses and partnerships even if you join a well established firm you still have a chance at fame and wealth. Splitting the company into smaller units and tying their pay to performance of a product is one way. Of course some of that will face resistance from engineers that just want a reliable and steady job.

I think the solution is a hybrid: one part of the enterprise is run like a utility company and the other part of the company is an incubator. The conditions in the incubator should mimic the ones in the startup - lower base pay, smaller teams and a large bonus if the product catches on.

For now Microsoft and Google try to get the overachievers by buying companies and doing some great campus recruiting, but this well also runs dry aver a while. I know some companies now that are openly against getting acquired by slow giants and some of the best college recruits are raising money instead of joining the corporate ladder.

PS: the topic was brought on by reading this fine blog post: http://informationarbitrage.com/post/1574002431/the-challenge-of-being-google

Seattle as a "One Industry Town"

I recently came across a technical blog post that described Seattle as a "One Industry Town."

I have lived here for about 16 years, so I know a thing or two about the local industries. So what does Seattle bring to the world beside Microsoft (as this tech blogger probably implied).

#1 Seattle is still the center of American Aviation. Living here you hear about the Dreamliner, Boeing contracts and other things you don't really get to hear about in other places that much.

#2 Seattle is the home of Starbucks - the top brand in Coffee

#3 Seattle is where Costco was created

#4 The largest world retailer - Amazon.com is based in Seattle

#5 UW is consistently ranked as on of the top medical schools and facilities in the nation.

#6 Seattle is where most of the Waterskis and other water sports equipment is made by companies like O'Brien and H.O.

As you can see Seattle is way beyond just Microsoft even though Microsoft is one of the key components of our economy. Microsoft also plays an important role in importing some of the smartest people from around the world here. Seattle is often ranked as the #1 most literate city in USA.

So dear valley pundits - we are quite alright here.

-mb

PS: Last but not least - we are the providers of two out of four major cloud computing platforms here (Amazon and Microsoft) and there is no shortage of clouds here ;)

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Instead of just sending that information to AT&T - share the location with the world via Twitter and let people avoid the dead spots.
http://itunes.apple.com/app/dropped-call-alert/id400044044?mt=8