Welcome to Microsoft!

Yes, it’s official. October 17th, 2011 was D-Day for Microsoft and me; new employee orientation (NEO) was in Washington. In fact, today is my two-week anniversary! I’ve crossed over, drank the cool-aid, been assimilated, given in, joined The Man, or whatever cute phrase you want to pin to it. It’s true.

It’s pretty funny, too, but if you ever thought I was a little “religious” about the Microsoft stack then you will get a kick out of my title: Developer Evangelist.

What does a Developer Evangelist supposed to do? Well, I am supposed to make the case for Microsoft tech – just like a real Evangelist. To be a connection. To help you out. To be honest, even I get a kick out the title. But I am serious about it, and feel lucky to be here.

Seriously, I always suspected I would someday work here. I just didn’t know the capacity. This one feels pretty right. Microsoft has contributed to my career since the beginning – 17 years ago; how can I not love them? And now, here I am wearing the blue badge – more like the Blue Badge of Courage in today’s hostile technology battlefield. But, I tread forward.

I will remain in Colorado. There’s no way I could compromise that.

To me, my genome has the right recipe to stride in this role. Let’s hope I am right. With a dash of community passion, technology enthusiasm, and professional motivation – this is going to be a fun ride. There’s plenty to learn, lots to do, and a million latent wins if I can push forward. And, I think I can – certainly hope I can.

Hey, if you are a developer nearby, I look forward to meeting you soon. Lots of you may already know me. I’ll be at the Microsoft-sponsored events in town (like the forthcoming Phone Camp) and hope to put my foot in the door of area user groups. If you see me, come tell me your name. If I forget your name in 10 minutes – extend a little mercy. We’re all developers together. We’re all wanting excellence. We’re all wanting to learn.

I’m on your side – even if you think you hate Microsoft. Give me 5 minutes to make the case, and you’ll be booting Visual Studio to build your first Windows Phone app! ;)