Hey, I Got Quoted by an Industry Pundit!

Normally the feature stories on the Microsoft Research website don’t make it off the website.  But everything in life is timing, and this story about the Gazelle browser received major coverage from blogs and industry pundits because speculation about Google chrome is rife and therefore anything coming out of Microsoft, even a research prototype, is fodder for rumour.

I especially want to point out my favorite mention of the article, from a blog by Mary Jo Foley, industry pundit and Microsoft-watcher.  In it she says:

I’ve had Gazelle (the project which started out as “MashupOS”) explained to me a couple of times, but I never quite understood it. The new Microsoft-authored article, however, actually helped me understand more about where Microsoft is going with this project.

Yes! This is exactly the sort of response I want from clients and readers – complex subjects rendered easy to understand.

Research Projects Make Good Stories

There are more than 800 researchers working at six Microsoft Research labs around the world and lab directors want to recruit the world’s top PhDs.  One of the goals of the Microsoft Research website is to provide content that attracts the talent they hope to hire and also provide the general technology audience with a look at how Microsoft is advancing the state of the art.  Each week the site features a story about a research project and the people who have worked on the project. 

In terms of sheer, brain-churning difficulty, these feature stories have been the most challenging assignments in my career.  The preparation work always makes me wish I had paid more attention to Cmpt 405 back at university.  Was that Algorithm Analysis or maybe it was Computational Linguistics? 

Imagine reading through a research paper (or three) written by computing science PhDs for other PhDs, then interviewing the researchers and hoping your questions do not seem too inane.  Then imagine writing a story for a general audience that properly describes the goals of the research, the technical challenges, and the way it might impact existing or future technologies. 

This work has provided exciting glimpses into the future and given me far more appreciation of the “magic” that we take for granted in all the technology that we use.

Here is a list of some stories I wrote for the Microsoft Research website.

Marketing a Research Lab

Attracting the best research talent in the computing world is a competitive business; Microsoft Research Silicon Valley wanted a brochure about their lab that would help their recruiting efforts.  After some telephone conferences to establish the scope of the project, I met with the director and assistant director of the lab to establish the correct tone and messages for the brochure. 

They emphasized the culture of collaboration at the lab, reflected in everything from building design and décor to flexible office hours.  They also wanted to make it clear that Microsoft Research puts a priority on advancing the state of the art in computing research for the industry overall, not just for Microsoft. 

A few things became clear over the course of the day.  First, that the most compelling words a potential candidate could read about the work environment at Microsoft Research Silicon Valley are words from another researcher. Next, that we would need several photographs of the lab to properly convey how every gathering spot in the building was also equipped to support discussions and brainstorming.  I interviewed a number of researchers and we took some photos.  The result was  a brochure with photos and quotes that conveyed a positive and accurate image of the lab’s working environment.