Events around February 28, 2008

So i found out yesterday that i share a birthday with Paul Krugman. The slight relevance beyond birth date is that I've been hearing about him a bit in my macro econ class, he obtained his PhD at MIT and used to teach here, and my buddy Chris has shared some of his columns with me from time to time at NYTimes.com.

A nice birthday treat was getting to hear Clay Christensen speak. He's an HBS professor, and author of The Innovator's Dilemma, which I read just last year (and loved). In particular, he had a very interesting segment talking about a way to look at products. For the product, what job is it that I'm hiring it to do? That can help drive your decisions and get to the root of what consumers really are looking for.

On Wednesday I went to a session where I got to hear Tim Westergren speak. Tim is the founder of Pandora and is currently its Chief Strategy Officer. He had a great story to tell about his experiences (and big challenges) and what led him to make Pandora. I just signed up at Pandora and it's come a long way and looks and feels completely different than the early version I tried back in 2005.


Being tired from lots of traveling and readjusting to school, as well as having been fighting off a cold for the past week, I didn't really want to do anything for my b-day. But a couple good friends caught wind of this and so I ended up going out to a low-key dinner and then drinks afterward. It was about all the energy I had since I woke up this morning feeling a bit more sick. Alas, I had a good time, and hopefully I can be fully recovered by the end of the weekend. Many thanks to all who found their way out last night to spend time with me on my b-day, and to those (all over the world) who remembered and offered warm b-day wishes! :D

On being the FriendFeed intern

I'm not one to be very star-struck by celebrities, but when I first started interning at FriendFeed I definitely felt in awe of the people I was around. For a bit of context, back when Google Search first came out, I was certainly impressed—search that really works! But it wasn't until I started using Gmail in 2004 that I really became a fan of Google. It was the most innovative piece of consumer software that I had ever encountered. The release of Google Maps in '05 reinforced my love for Google products.

And there I was, as a FriendFeed intern, sitting amongst the people that made these products happen:

• Paul Buchheit created Gmail, Sanjeev Singh joined him in developing it, and Kevin Fox designed the UI. Ana Yang did marketing for Gmail (which I later realized was the reason speaking with her seemed so familiar, as I had read all the Gmail marketing material thoroughly...).


• Bret Taylor and Jim Norris launched Google Maps, where Bret was the product manager (and also did development work), and Jim a software engineer.

Needless to say, it was very inspiring to work with such a high-caliber team. I learned so much simply from observing and discussing approaches to product improvements and features with the team. With my interests in product management and user experience, I was particularly thankful to have a chance to learn from Bret and Kevin.

I naturally expected the team to be comprised of very smart individuals, but was pleasantly surprised to find that they were also incredibly well-rounded and fun individuals. On top of it all, they were very down-to-earth and friendly. It felt like being a part of a second family.

I missed them so much that a week after returning to school I flew back to California and joined them in Lake Tahoe for the first annual FriendFeed ski trip.

As impressive as what they've done in a few short months may be, I'm sure the best is yet to come. And, they're officially launching! So go check out FriendFeed before all the good user nicknames are taken. ;)

How I spent the rest of my winter vacation

Having been very busy with an unimaginably wide-range of things the past few weeks, I haven't yet written about how I spent a large chunk of my first real winter break in four years (taking vacation days while working isn't really a "winter break").

One of the great things about being a student at MIT is IAP (Independent Activities Period) during January, which"has provided members of the MIT community with a unique opportunity to organize, sponsor and participate in a wide variety of activities, including how-to sessions, forums, athletic endeavors, lecture series, films, tours, recitals and contests." Alternatively, it offers students an opportunity to take an extended winter break to travel, prepare and interview for summer internships, or partake in a month-long intern/externship.

With my interest in either starting or joining a high tech startup in the near future, I thought IAP would be a great time to spend a few weeks and get experience working at a startup. In thinking about what kind of startup to choose, I followed my belief that the most important thing about a startup is a great team (yes there are successful entrepreneurial efforts from great product ideas or just great luck, but if I had to place bets, I'd go with a great team).

I asked my good friend Jini for any recommendations she may have for startups with great teams and she responded by telling me about a startup whose four co-founders are the ex-Googlers who were responsible for creating Gmail and Google Maps—which are, in my opinion, hands down the most innovative and useful products to have been home-grown at Google, aside from Search. Jini made an introduction for me to one of the co-founders, Paul. Paul was employee #23 at Google and was responsible for Gmail, Google's famous "Don't be evil" motto, and the first AdSense prototype. Fortunately he and the rest of the co-founders agreed to let me in their doors, and in my next post I'll talk about the extremely good fortune I had of interning at a young startup called FriendFeed.

Aside from the internship, I also was in Vegas for a weekend with classmates, flew on five consecutive weekends, with the past four weekends being trips between Boston and San Francisco (both ways the past two weekends, so six coast-to-coast flights in total) for interviews. The last of which is this Monday (and finally a non-redeye from SF to Boston!). All in all, this has resulted in me being quite confused as to which coast and time-zone I'm on.

Unreal

Originally posted at http://everybodylovesklaus.blogspot.com/2008/02/unreal.html:

Dear Klaus,

Part of me understood the tragic news I heard this week. But most of me refused to acknowledge it. How could this be real? My memories of you are still so sharp and vivid in my mind. Your infectious smile and laugh, your boundless energy and enthusiasm for life, and your genuine care and concern for friends. I can still hear your voice so clearly.

I am so very sorry I was not able to make it to your memorial service today, as I am out in California. It only reinforces the pain I feel on other missed opportunities for hanging out with you. We still haven't had the chance to get together, for you to show me things on the guitar, and for me to show you things in WingTsun.

I was looking through old emails we exchanged and a passage you wrote stood out:
"the enlightment was like a flash, I was training with Paul and suddenly I was not in my body, for a split second, dejavus like, understanding a lot more just intuitively. Hard to say in words actually."

I feel an out of body experience as well, about this reality which I do not want to accept. It likewise is hard to describe in words, and I am very incapable of understanding it intuitively. But even after leaving us, you have helped me with the first WingTsun principal of moving forward. I imagine what you would do in this situation--you would certainly do your best to raise the spirits of those around you while cherishing the memories of what has been lost. So with bittersweet emotions, I allow myself to be swayed by the thoughts of your positive energy and charming voice, urging me to accept what has passed and that things will be okay. I will do my best to oblige, dear friend, but I cannot make a promise of it.

"Dan-Man"

Goodbye dear friend

Missed chances
Missed moments
Missed times for
us to share

Too soon for
you to go
taking away
your bright smile

All of our
memories of
You will live
on

So until
we meet again
take care dear
Klaus

http://everybodylovesklaus.blogspot.com/

A visit down memory lane

This morning (1/31) i stopped by Saratoga High School for the first time in over 8 years. (Not counting my sister's graduation 4.5 years ago and a few times playing basketball/tennis when classes weren't in session.) I went to drop in on the SHS meeting for Key Club—which was started there 10 years ago. I had been meaning to visit a KC meeting for a while now, but during college i was only home during school breaks, when there were no meetings. After college, i moved off to the east coast. Now, finally, because of MIT's IAP (Independent Activities Period) which delays the second semester until February 5, i was able to be home this week and finally stop by a meeting.

It was great to see that the club is still doing well after all these years. After the meeting, i spoke with two seniors who are both KC officers. One was the club president and the other the division LTG. It was interesting that despite nearly a decade's separation, the common bond of KC leadership helped us connect easily. They asked some questions about how the club got started and what things were like back then, and also showed me a box (that i recognized) of the club's belongings. A pleasant surprise was a scrap book i had forgotten about from the club's very first year. It was a surreal feeling flipping through the pages of the scrap book and having memories slowly piece themselves together.

Revisiting memories of my Key Club days also reminded me that it was actually KC that first exposed me to organizational leadership. Furthermore, quite relevant to my life now—it was what first inspired me to plan to get an MBA "someday."