We’re Not Slackers, We’re Coffee Achievers
In response to John Bristowe’s announcement of the first Calgary Coffee and Code, we got this comment from a reader named Cameron:
How do all of you people have the day off. 9am to 4pm on a weekday? Gen-Y is in full effect.
Gen Y? Technically, we’re Gen Xers, since we were both born between 1960 and 1980. If I’m not mistaken, John is a “Nintendo Wave” Xer, since he was born in the 70s and I’m an “Atari Wave” Xer, having been born in 1967.
In response to Cameron’s comment, I couldn’t resist doctoring a graphic from the website for the animated series Slacker Cats:
(Come to think of, they sort of look like us. The hair colour’s the same.)
But seriously: John and I (as well as a number of other people in Microsoft Canada’s Developer & Platform Evangelism team) are officially classified by Microsoft as mobile workers. All the computers assigned to us are laptops, our internet and mobile phones are subsidized and our workplaces are wherever we happen to be working at the time: our home offices, Microsoft or on the road. It’s not for everyone, but if you have the discipline to handle the freedom, it can be a pretty nice way to work.
Coffee and Code was created to make us more accessible and give Microsoft a more human “face” by taking advantage of our flexible working arrangements. By working out of places like cafes, we’re making it quite easy for you to find us and join us in a conversation about whatever interests you, whether it’s Microsoft tools and technologies, the state of the industry or any other topic. It also makes for the perfect setting for us to help build local tech communities by gathering developers, IT pros, architects and other techies together. And finally, we’re patronizing “third place” businesses – those essential social places that are neither home nor the office – that are vital to the general community.
If a Coffee and Code attracts a large enough crowd, I find that I don’t get much programming, writing or administrative work done. That’s okay, because I’m getting another kind of work done: talking with local software developers, answering their questions, making note of their needs and suggestions and exchanging ideas. In short, I’m making connections with them, and that’s a major pillar of the Developer Evangelist position. If I’m not doing that, I’m not doing my job.
Where We’ll Be
If you’re in Calgary, you’ll want to head to Kawa Espresso Bar, where John Bristowe will be hosting the event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.. You’ll find more details about his Coffee and Code event in this entry.
If you’re in Toronto, your Coffee and Code event will be hosted by Yours Truly at the spacious upstairs “Red Velvet Lounge” of the Starbucks at Yonge and Davisville from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.. You’ll find more details about it in this entry.
Since both events overlap perfectly, both locations are wifi equipped and both John and I have laptops with integrated cameras, I’m going to try videoconferencing with him, making this another Coffee and Code first. If you’re in eithe rof our neighbourhoods, please drop by!
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Don’t forget to come to Vancouver
What? Yonge and Davisville today? Dammit, I’m stuck downtown at U of T! Hmm, perhaps I’ll skip out early-ish, and head there on my way home.
This is totally insane. Work at your office. That is why it exists. You know why cafes exist? For people to get coffee and tea at. Not for you to set up shop and do business. Why don’t I come into your office and sit down in the lobby and do business all day. Then people will find me.
This is a horrible idea. Leave the cafes and their patrons alone. Do you really think a cafe owner wants you to take up valuable table space all day because you think working there is helping the people? No.
Besides, Microsoft sucks no matter what face it has. Sorry dudes.
I think Coffee and Code is a great idea. Unfortunately Microsoft leveraging a great idea to astroturf and promote their products is annoying. It is like the Zune, a great idea but again ruined completely by Microsoft.
Connie and Darren:
Connie Fuzed must be either:
a) A coffee shop owner that should have taken more business classes instead of bong hits in college.
b) An old lady who doesn’t understand why all these young whippersnappers aren’t working in the work environments of the 60’s and 70’s…coffee is for BREAKS!
c) A disgruntled Apple-designer type person who just hates the fact that someone as metrosexual as Joey DeVilla has crossed over to be a Blue Badge
d) This is really John Bristowe trying to stir up $hit.
Or a combination of some of the above. Regardless, let’s deconstruct her comments shall we?
“You know why cafes exist? For people to get coffee and tea at. Not for you to set up shop and do business.”
Many offer free wifi…is that for all the people just getting coffee and tea?
“Why don’t I come into your office and sit down in the lobby and do business all day.”
It depends…are you hot?
“Do you really think a cafe owner wants you to take up valuable table space all day because you think working there is helping the people?”
Hmm…more people go to the coffee place mentioned, maybe for the first time, and spend money there…and *maybe* become repeat customers…and the coffee place didn’t spend a *dime* on marketing to do it. So…yes.
“Besides, Microsoft sucks no matter what face it has. Sorry dudes.”
Wait…wait…Joey, is this chick one of those dates-gone-horribly-wrong posting on here?! I think that ‘face’ comment was directed at you!
D
I’m sure business is good for cafe owners when coders come ’round because coders (well all the ones I know, anyway) are caffeine addicts. Next to students cramming for exams, they’re probably the most consistent clientele at a cafe. Even pretentious poet/artists like me sitting in cafes don’t buy as much product.
As for the Microsoft hate: meh, as a PC gamer, Microsoft is the only viable option so I switched to Windows a long time ago. Not everyone wants to learn/get used to a new OS, even if it’s just a different GUI. I was a Mac guy for ages but now? Playing with my sister’s MacBook with Tiger, I still have to Google how to do things I figured out how to do in Windows a long time ago. Sadly, I find command line easier to use under Tiger than trying to figure out where they put what after having used Windows for so long. Perhaps I’ll contemplate dual-booting with Ubuntu (or some other open source distro) once I get a new machine, but hmm… until Zuggsoft put out zMUD on other OSes, I’m always going to keep a Windows partition. ;P
I’m not even a coder but I think this is a great idea, and I suspect that only people trolling from their mom’s basement would think otherwise. As my dad is a coder, when he returns to Canada next year I’ll definitely get him to drop by. He loves coffee AND he loves code.
Fittingly, the first article from pcworld@itworld.ca which just dropped into my inbox:
5 Great Microsoft Web Services you probably don’t use
Microsoft is so often the behemoth everyone loves to hate that people overlook the stuff it does right. We tried its newer Web services and found five gems.
I attended one Coffee and Code session last month and it was fun!
Although I do bring a laptop and work on some smaller things like email and maybe some code, I don’t really pretend to get serious work done. It is more a social and networking thing for me. And I like coffee.
It is nice to hang out with friendly similar minded software folks for a couple of hours. I always get something out of events like this. A good idea. A new contact. Or simply a good time or a well deserved break from slaving way too many hours alone behind a computer screen.
I can understand the 9 to 5 argument but many of us are in control of our own time. I don’t think people are slacking when they attend someting like Coffee and Code. It is simply part of a more dynamic work methodology.
It is also really great that the Toronto software scene is so alive. Events like the Developer Lunch or Coffee and Code or the many (free) conferences and talks that are going on really make a difference!