Geek in question: Omar Shahine
Job title: Lead Program Manager in Hotmail, based in Microsoft’s Silicon Valley Campus (SVC)

How is working for Microsoft in Silicon Valley different from working in Redmond?
Working for Microsoft down here humbles you a bit. Being in the Valley gives you a different perception of Microsoft’s role in the industry … Google’s less than a mile over that way. Yahoo’s a mile over there. We all have friends and spouses who work both places. Proximity gives you a different perspective than what you have in Redmond, where you’re surrounded tens of thousands of Microsoft employees.

There are what — 80,000 people who work for Microsoft? But with 1500 people at the Silicon Valley Campus, I feel like I work for an average-sized Valley company – granted, one with significant resources.

How long have you been with the company?
I started as an intern in 1999.

That’s a long–ass time, especially in the tech world of job hopping! What’s made you stick around?
I love working here. I’m continuously challenged — every year I have an opportunity to do something I’ve never done before. It almost feels like being in a University. You have smart people around you to help you, mentors to teach you, and opportunities to stretch yourself.

If I look at my career over the last 10 years, I can break it down into distinct phases. There was the phase right after college, where I was so excited that I worked like a dog and I was here every day of the week.

Then I went through the phase of getting married, and my relationship with my job changed a bit. Then I became a manager and started managing people and learning how to deal with that. And then having a kid, and buying a house, and growing up and all that stuff…

Microsoft has been very good to me and has given me the flexibility to adjust my work to match my life. The company will always have a special place in my heart. It’s been a big part of me growing up.

Awww! So, which teams have you worked with during your decade with the company?
I spent five or six years working on Mac products with the Mac Business Unit, and then I joined the Hotmail team in 2004 — two months after Gmail launched.

That must have been a, uh, exciting time for Hotmail!
My first six months with Hotmail were the most terrifying months of my life. I didn’t have a lot of ramp up time. There just weren’t enough hours in the day! I came to work crazy early and left late, and it was a lot of fun, actually.

You’re one of thousands of Microsoft employee bloggers. What motivates you?
I read Jeff Atwood’s blog Coding Horror, and he wrote an interesting post about the intrinsic value in blogging. He feels like, if he’s figured something out, he’s not satisfied until other people know about it. I’m hugely curious about technology, and I like figuring things out — and I don’t feel satisfied until I’ve told someone else. A blog is a great output for that kind of itch.

I do blog a little less now that I use Twitter. Writing something short is like a little pressure release valve. I don’t need to blog as much. But it’s just one of those things — I have to get it out somehow!

But there’s certainly a lot of responsibility. Any time you open your mouth outside Microsoft, you’re speaking on behalf of the company. This was even true before blogging! Whether you like it or not, people are going to interpret your words as Microsoft’s.

Right! That freaks me out sometimes.
Blogging is such an amazing opportunity, though. Your ability to influence Microsoft through a blog is a real thing these days. There are MSFT bloggers that account for tens of thousands of readers..

Blogging is a lot of responsibility. I like that I have the freedom to write down my thoughts as a Microsoft blogger. I mean, I’ve definitely gotten myself into trouble. I’ve said things I shouldn’t have. I’ve never retracted anything, but there were situations where I probably should have waited a couple days before post something. Thankfully, Microsoft is very forgiving.

Links, please?
• Omar’s blog: shahine.com/omar
• Omar’s Twitter
• Omar’s FriendFeed
• Hotmail Team Blog