Microserfs – Part One

Thanks to a good friend who has lent me her (autographed) copy of Douglas Coupland’s “microserfs” book (1995), I have been experiencing the life of a (fictional) Microsoft employee and his friends circa 1993.  I’ve heard the term before of course, and Coupland is the guy who invented the term “Generation X”.  It’s a fantastic book to read right now and there are so many inside terms that only someone who has been around so long in technology would understand and appreciate.  When I first heard the term “microserfs”, I thought it would be a derogatory term, but it’s really not.  It is somewhat of a homage to tech companies in the early nineties and what they and the industry were going through.

A quick summary of the similarities between then and now at Microsoft that I have noticed so far:

1. Coupland makes note of the fanatical obsession that MS had with recycling way back then.  It definitely continues to this day.  Every room has separate containers for compost, recycling and trash.  The other day I almost got chewed in half for daring to throw away an aluminum can in a trash container.  I got the message and have found religion.

2. He also makes note of the disdain show for Marketing people by technologists and specifically Developers.  Since Marketing is what I do, I can appreciate that.  There is a passage where the developers and testers have to sit through a meeting run by Marketing that is – well – dreadful.

3. There are a lot of passages about the campus here at Redmond.  It is a beautiful place and I have to appreciate the walkways, buildings and trees every time I drive or walk by.

4. In the book, the lead character works in Building 7.  It turns out there is no building 7, it is some kind of inside joke.  Today I passed by a sign that said buildings 1-6 and 8-17 or something.  There were plans for a building 7, but due to some issues with the city or something, it was never built.

5. There is talk about competition and where you sit in the organization, even then (between Office or Windows e.g.).  This is the most competitive company I have ever been in – in a transparent kind of way.  It is highly visible what your scores are in internal kickoff sessions, who has done what and not just from a revenue/orders point of view – which is of course everything.

There are so many passages that are just hilarious but I need to gather my thoughts some more to write about them.   We talked about if one could write like a combination of David Sedaris and Douglas Coupland – reality and self-deprecating humor.  More to follow.

Oh – and I ran another 6 miles plus yesterday (Saturday) in brilliant sunshine reflecting off the lake while people stroll by with dogs and kids in tow.  Tomorrow, another day in the office and moving things along.