Meeting Famous People

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 00:11:49 GMT

One of the things I like to do when I come out to Microsoft's corporate headquarters is look up where people's offices are and drop by to see if I can say hello. These are not always people I have a good business reason to visit but they are people I want to meet. If I have a good business reason to meet with them I send an email or a meeting request and that's that. It works great. But some people I just want to meet because they are famous. OK maybe not famous is a NY Times front page or a NY Post "society column" sort of way. But they have some sort of fame on the Internet. I just want to know what they are like in person.

Today I stopped by one building hoping to see a couple of people I knew. In the lobby I saw a giant 9 Guy - the logo for Channel 9. All of a sudden it hit me - Rory Blyth works for Channel 9. I'll be the works in the building. Sure enough he did and I found his office. Now I am a huge fan of Rory's blog and his work on Channel 9. He's got far more fame on the Internet then I will ever have. So I stopped by.

Now the first thing one does is to introduce ones self and then to quickly add "and I'm a big fan of your blog." Because of course he's famous and you are not so you can't expect your name to mean anything to him. It turns out that he did recognize my name from my education blogging at On 10 which was very cool.

Rory turns out the be a very nice fellow and we had a great visit. It is pretty clear that he is one very smart guy. It turns out that he has been involved in the Internet and BBS systems for a long time. From a young age actually which since I was well into my 20s before I got into any of that sort of thing shows how smart he was at a young age. It's not every day I run into people who remember the Internet before the World Wide Web.

Sometimes famous people disappoint you. They can be mean or dismissive or just not want to be bothered with you. Other times you leave feeling valued and better about yourself because you were well treated by someone who impresses you. The latter was how I left Rory's office. (Thanks Rory!)

There are lots of really smart people at Microsoft. Sometimes I wonder if I got in by mistake. But the smart people I have worked with, met, talked to and otherwise come into contact have mostly been really open and friendly as well. That is one of the things that makes me really enjoy working here.

Alfred Thompson the Cyberspace People Watcher: Microsoft

Meeting Famous People