Sean Alexander

Welcome to the brand-new look for Addicted to Digital Media. As many of you have noticed, the site has been up and down over the past few months. Unfortunately a combination of an overloaded server and a few issues in the previous release of DasBlog combined to create a bad situation. Then my hosting provider was taking the site offline without notification. <sigh> But that’s the past. We’re moving to new hosting off an OC-48.

A Personal Note.
So where have I been? A lot has changed since May. I took a blogging vacation, then a business trip to the OEM Partner Summit in Greece where I had an opportunity to demo IE7 and Windows Vista for a number of EMEA (European/Middle East/Asian) OEMs. (It was a big hit with spontaneous applause which is rare among this group.) When I returned, I took stock of the past eight years of my career. What a wild ride. My roles have been increasingly challenging but more of a traditional marketing and business-management-focused role. I was looking for something with more of a technical slant to it. My career has taken me from Web development to DevTools marketing at Microsoft, to Streaming Media, to Windows XP, to Windows XP MCE, to Longhorn. I’ve had the opportunity to demo with or present with every Windows VP up to Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates. Our team got the consumer side of marketing ramped up for Longhorn Beta 1 and beyond – did I want to stay on into the next phase?

Moving to a new position.
People who know me, know I thrive on challenging projects in new and emerging technologies. So when I learned about a new emerging technologies project that was being spun up inside Microsoft, I decided it was time to engage my other passion, and the other half of my MIS degree. That’s one of the great things about working at Microsoft- you can work on many different connected or disparate technologies or disciplines provided you demonstrate in an interview process that you have the qualifications for the job. Yes, the interview process is rigorous but respectful even for internal hires- we owe it to our shareholders to make smart decisions when hiring even internally. For me, this is the first jump of this scale in nearly 6 years- it’s exhiliarating and scary- just as any new job should be.

What is it already?
Ahh yes, more cloak and dagger. 😉 I’m still in the Windows org, but I’m not in Windows Vista marketing. I’m working more directly with the development teams in an area I cannot talk about yet. It’s a challenging opportunity and a talented group I feel honored to be a part of it and look forward to contributing to it.

So what about Addicted to Digital Media?
Redoubling efforts – this site has never been an official part of my job- it’s been a passion of mine even after moving on and will continue to be so. In the coming weeks, what you will see is a small shift to a slightly more breadth-based coverage of cool tech, tips and tricks, and gadgets. With Windows Vista around the corner, I’ll be talking more about that and providing all sorts of little items. I’m also working on a new blog that will be related to my new job, which will launch some time… in the future 😉 Sorry but to say more would be a “Career Limiting Maneuver” (CLM).

Keep the news tips, feedback, and conversations coming. Let me know what you think about the site (graphics designers wanted). We’re back 🙂