The geek in question: Matthew Baldwin

The job title: Programmer/Writer on the protocol documentation team.

So, what are you working on right now?
We have been creating technical specifications for the protocols used by Microsoft applications to communicate … okay, this is the moment where the eyes of the person who asked that question typically glaze over, so I’ve never actually come up with an ending for this sentence.

Is it awesome?
I’m a bit of a purist in regards to the word “awesome,” preferring to only apply it to such things as knife-wielding sharks and the movies of Jean-Claude Van Damme. But, yeah, the stuff I do is pretty cool. In a nutshell, we are providing third-parties with the ability to create applications that interoperate with Windows. As someone who worked exclusively in open source environments prior to joining MS, I appreciate that my efforts are helping to bridge the divide between these two communities.

And Microsoft recently took the extraordinary step of posting all of these specifications to MSDN, available to anyone with a browser and a hankering for deathless prose. Print one out, take it to the beach this summer!

I know you’ve written a popular humor blog called Defective Yeti for years – how does the writing you do on defectiveyeti.com color the documentation you do for Microsoft?
Not in the least. The documents we create are technical specifications written to conform to strict legal guidelines and internal standards; inserting jokes about Amy Winehouse is therefore discouraged. We aren’t even allowed to use emoticons or LOLCAT captions for the diagrams, if you can believe it.

Why “defective yeti” anyway?
“defective yeti’ was just a random combination of words that tumbled out of my mouth about a week before I started my site. When Blogger demanded that I give my newly created weblog a name, I just stuck them in there as a placeholder, intending to rechristen the site as soon as possible. That was in 2002, so I s’pose I ought to get on that.

I understand your coworkers don’t know you blog … UNTIL NOW. Why so closeted? Why are you outting yourself now?
Well, it’s not like I’ve been keeping it a secret. But blogs are so ubiquitous these days that announcing you write one is like announcing you have a liver. And droning on about your blog to friends and colleagues is the 21^st century equivalent of regaling the guy next to you on the eight-hour plane with stories about your grandchildren.

A couple weeks ago I noticed you tweeted about writing your annual review:

…How’d the whole “Foxy Grandma” thing work out for you?

Good gravy, you’re determined to get me in trouble, aren’t you.

I was cheating a little bit on those Tweets—I’d actually knocked out my performance review the week before. I attended the Evergreen State College, where, in lieu of grades, students underwent performance reviews, so I’m an old hand at the whole self-evaluation thing. Microsoft obviously values a different skill set than Evergreen did, though. I didn’t tout my ability to keep a Hacky Sack in the air, for instance, or cite “veganism” as an accomplishment.

How long have you worked for Microsoft?
It was two years in April.

What made you want to work at Microsoft?
The benefits, initially. My son was diagnosed with autism at the age of eighteen months, and my previous position did not cover treatment. We quickly learned, however, that Microsoft did, and that its coverage of Applied Behavioral Analysis — the autism therapy now generally regarded as the most effective — was nearly unparalleled in the nation.

I doubt I would have explored opportunities with MS, were it not for that impetus. But when I did so, I found my current position, which perfectly aligned with my skills and ambitions. The whole thing was remarkably serendipitous, in retrospect.

What’s surprised you about working here?
It’s not the big, faceless corporation I’d always envisioned. I work in a small group, have plenty of interaction with my peers and supervisors, and my input is both sought and considered. I’d imagined the interior of a Microsoft building as, like, a Dickensian cotter pin factory, but here I am having my weekly 1:1 meeting with my manager over racquetball and playing cards games with my coworkers during lunch.

I understand that in addition to being hilarious, you’re also a boardgame geek. What are the similarities between working at Teh Soft and playing a good boardgame?
Um, that at any given time I’m likely to be the least smart person at the table?

Links, please

• Matthew’s blog: defectiveyeti.com
• Matthew’s twitter: twitter.com/matthewbaldwin
• About Microsoft’s autism benefits: bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2002/05/13/focus6.html
• About protocol documentation: microsoft.com/about/legal/intellectualproperty/protocols