I've been with Microsoft now for over 3 years and have loved every minute of my time here. For the time leading up to being hired at Microsoft, it was a professional goal of mine to work for the company. Fanboy? Sure, call me whatever you want. I prefer to just call it passion. I joined as a developer evangelist for my community (an area we call desert mountain which spans Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana). This was an easy thing to say yes to because everything I learned I learned from being a part of a community, whether that be online or offline. I've met a lot of great people along the way and made new really good friends. I hope that on some level I've been able to help the communities in my area progress a little better or learn something along the way. I know that there are some that still need some more help and I know that over time we will get there.
As of April 1, I'll be starting a new role on the Silverlight team, focusing on you...the developer and designer. 'Evangelism' is a funny word when used in the context of Microsoft. You would think (and in some cultures it doesn't translate well) that I'm a missionary of sorts. Well, whatever you want to call it I like to think I'm not moving to far away on the evang-o-meter. I'm just getting narrow focus and broader goals. My focus will be on Silverlight. My community: you.
I'm working in ScottGu's organization and will be joining forces with Jesse Liberty to help serve the developers of the world for Silverlight. I'll be much more visible on the Silverlight community site (I started out spending a lot of time there but for workload reasons couldn't sustain). I'll be helping out with the 'How Do I?' series of videos for Silverlight. And, if I'm lucky, I'll be able to show up at events across the globe (I hear there's one in Belgium coming up...hmmm, I've never been to Belgium) talking about Silverlight and sharing my passion.
I'm real excited about this opportunity and working with all you talented developers and designers. All my contact information stays the same and the virtual door is always open...keep the feedback and suggestions coming!
(And no, this isn't an April fools joke...unless my new manager Simon is an evil, evil person.)