Step into my office
Let’s face facts
Jonathan Schwartz beat me to the punch. Today is not my last day at Dashboard. March 31st is. Like Mr. Schwartz I will miss it. Unlike Mr. Schwartz I don’t write poetry (haiku to be specific). I write code.
When Flash Was King
When I started at Dashboard back in early 2006 things were different. Flash was king, SEO was an afterthought and web analytics were measured in ‘page hits’. Social media… well that was exchanging files via CD-ROM at the bar. I was primarily a Flash coder, working with 2 other guys on brand microsites. The website animations were slick, load times…slow and content was light. It was all about ‘the show’. Programmers myself included, were responsible for building the ‘Creative Vision’. We didn’t really have a voice.
Technically speaking
Things have changed in the industry, not just technology and connection speeds but how things are done and what requests clients make. Dashboard has also seen many changes. You could say ‘we grew up’ that’s debatable (see flickr feed). As for me as of about 3 years ago I became Director of Technology and Innovation. For me job #1 was to become a voice for the programmers.
Being a voice
Being a voice is a big job. It requires listening, information gathering, researching, being aware of technology/ trends and voicing thoughts. Relaying technical information to non-technical people can be a challenge. I work with many people on a daily basis, clients, account people and more often than not those pesky ‘always pushing the limits’ creative types.
When I’m not in meetings – I lead my team which means I need to code. I believe if you’re too far removed from something you’re bound to lose touch. If I don’t code “do I really know what I’m talking about”? I can’t tell my guys how I think they should structure files or be more efficient if I don’t code.
I do a lot of research, so I get to see what’s coming up and what others are doing. That might be checking out what’s going on with Doctrine (ORM) or testing JQuery plugins. Based on industry trends blogs, books and just chatting – I’m knowledgeable. I’ve become ‘A Voice’ not ‘The Voice’ (Listen…don’t just wait for your chance to talk).
How long to build the internet? Scoping / Estimating / Projects
Some days I feel like I’m being asked to scope the internet. ‘Hey Tim how long do you think it would take to build something kind of like facebook but better?’ Quite a bit of my time involves resourcing, scoping/timelines, planning and technical consulting. Sometimes I have to rely on my guys (especially when I don’t know). A lot of times I rely on my experience from past projects. Sound advice often comes from a good quote. Here’s one from my collection which helps me slow down and ask ‘Why are we doing this?’
“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. The inverse proposition also appears to be true: A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be made to work. You have to start over, beginning with a working simple system.”
— JOHN GALL
Tim broke it! (I.T Services)
‘Hey Tim – my internet isn’t working – what did you do? I code therefore I must know about computers right? Somewhere in the midst of quotes, meetings and projects. I work with our I.T company and our hosting partners managing hardware, software and servers. If something’s not working, I’m the guy getting the call. Those days aren’t fun but it’s all part of the job.
Moving On
So what’s the point of this post well…here’s the deal – Sadly I’m leaving Dashboard and moving the entire clan to Kingston on March 31st.. So I ask, do you want my job?
Well here’s your chance. Let us know you want Tim’s job by:
Applying here
Or
Follow @dashboarddotca on twitter and send us a tweet using the tag #IWANTTIMSJOB
Let us know why you’re the right fit for Dashboard and if we think you’re super awesome we’ll be in touch. If you’re lucky, in a future post we’ll introduce you to the team.
