Last night I went up to Seattle for a Seahawks game, which was a miserable defeat, but I had a chance to meet some good people. I have never met anyone that works at Microsoft, then suddenly last night, I meet two. While both individuals were very smart, as you have to be to work at Microsoft, I didn’t get the feeling they loved MS, it’s just where they work.

The gist of the conversation I remember, the rest was lost in a bit of a haze, so please forgive the generalizing without examples. Essentially what I got was this, yes, we work at Microsoft, there are some good things here, but Google/Firefox/Opensource/Apple/Web Standards are awesome! There is something troubling in this thought pattern.

Take someone like me, I am extremely passionate about what I do and the web. If someone like me were offered a job at Microsoft to do what I do, I would be leary. Why? Because I don’t see passion coming from Microsoft. My two conversations illustrate this to a certain extent. Both of these individuals lit up when we started talking about OpenSource, Web Standards, Apple, or Firefox. I’m curious to know how many Microsoft Employees get excited when they start talking about their own products. Could someone really get excited about releasing a bloated browser full of security holes that isn’t even up to web standards? Everything I have read indicates scope creep nightmares within Microsoft and there is no better killer for motivation.

Back to me. Personally, if I was working on a project, and it’s release got pushed back two years for bureaucracy, for competitors products features, for scalability, for compatability, for office politics, for whatever reason; I would be thinking about how cool my competitors are too. Google releases products and updates blazingly fast. Apple releases products and software at the same speed. The OpenSource movement is so egalitarian it’s hard not to be enamored by it and have a win one for the little guy attitude.

Microsoft has to convince Microsoft to change, it would be nice to see a Microsoft who makes decision for the good of the community, not maximizing shareholders wealth. And in the end, good community decisions make for good business. I don’t see that happening anytime soon. To the two of you whom I met, I would love to keep the dialogue going. Chances are, you have something to say.

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