I always remember fondly when I was younger when other kids asked me what my mom and dad did and I told them proudly psychologist and professor respectively. At the time (this was the late 70s) that was usually met with zero enthusiasm. They weren’t doctors, lawyers or finance people. Heck they weren’t even plumbers! At the time I shrugged it off. Recently people are starting to respect the idea of education more. I’ve always been drawn to the idea that educating others helps empower them to change the world. I’ve always felt technology and the power of the web always made me feel like simply becoming a teacher wasn’t enough. How do I really help others empower themselves? If I think about how I am empowered it’s through the discovery of new and fascinating ideas. I spend as much time being a student as a teacher. Then again, a woman in Tulum, Mexico told my wife and I recently, “in life you are always a student.” She was definitely onto something.

People don’t go into tech simply to make money. The long hours, constant thinking and evolution isn’t simply about money. Sure some of the marketers and developers might but if they don’t know what they are doing they won’t last. For every Facebook there are 99 startups that go out of business. The players who are relevant today can be made irrelevant tomorrow with a simple line of code. The point of life is learning from others around you and changing the world for the better.

People go into tech because they want to change the world. They want to empower people to help them change their world. That ultimately is what most tech titans like Bill Joy, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs have been noted for as a result of pioneering the space.

Today is a day that is both amazing yet equally sad at the same time. To many of you this will come as a surprise but to others you already know what I am going to say. Today I publicly announce that I am leaving the agency and marketing services world in NYC (just like I left the music industry in 2002) to move into Tech on the West Coast. Today I officially announce that I am joining Microsoft (specifically their online search division: Bing) to head up content marketing and R&D for BingAds. Today I become an advisor to SMBs to help them empower their business. To help a small doctors office offer their services in some far remote corner of the world using paid search. To help someone find a friend who lives in Seattle using Facebook graph search. And maybe one day soon, people finding Tumblr’s on Tumblr using the Yahoo/Bing network. If you’re a gamer and buy the Xbox One, I’ll be the team responsible for helping you find a local pizza shop to call using voice activation when you are playing Halo or watching an original series streaming on Hulu.

I think about my happiest times in life (minus the birth of my two daughters, nothing tops that). It was late nights spent in a lab talking to my engineering friends at Lehigh about the next big tool (usually it was the web) or hanging at a diner talking with my friend Jeff Boyle about how to merchandise EDM before it was called EDM. Or the times in my first apartment talking with my friend Strobe on how to design music for mass acceptance. There are countless others with countless people all about the exchange of ideas (Jonathan Keith, Jim Ubl, Bill Crowley, David Brooks). All of these times were spent thinking and then executing. Something I loved doing at my roles with Electric Artists, 360i and Social@Ogilvy. I guess it makes sense why Bing/Microsoft would want me to do this with their team of engineers, marketers and social media communicators. To help them incorporate design and disruption into their technology, critically think and innovate at warp speed.

I wasn’t searching for this opportunity. It found me. My late parents have always told me the best things in life will find you when you aren’t looking. They were so correct. I found my first job in NYC this way, my first true friends (James C, Strobe, Ikon, JK), my wife Allison literally wandered into my life. She’s my intellectual superior and for that I am so grateful.  Even some of the most inspiring people who I still chat with when I get the opportunity simply happened by chance. Trust me, I’ve had lots of ups and downs in life. Tons of failure, little recognition, lots of heartache. Lots of amazing times too. No career should ever decide your mood. Life is too short for work to define us. But life is about journeys and my older brother Brian (who I love a ton) said that you should go on as many as you can before you physically can’t do it anymore.

Unfortunately this journey requires me to break up with my girlfriend of 17 years (wait, I thought you are married many of you are asking). You see, my new lady will be the Emerald City of Seattle. As a result New York City will no longer be my faithful companion. NYC has given me a lot. Everything in fact. To leave at the age of 41 is difficult after living in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and Jersey for the past 17 years. I’ve been an East Coaster my whole life. But the hiatus might be inspiring. Many joke about the weather in the Pacific Northwest. Or the cold natives. Or the invasion of Californians. But others also say many people who don’t want others to find out the secret of the PNW only say those things to keep others from relocating there and ruining it. Many also joke about Microsoft. They say they suck, they can’t innovate, they’re always coming from behind. Sure, they’re a lumbering giant, but for the first time in 20 years they’re lumbering in the right direction. Devices, cloud, search, entertainment all in one. I think the Windows Phone will disrupt the iPhone in the emerging markets. People want utility, not identity. The way someone acts in Brazil, China, India, Russia is very different from the US of A.

This job will be difficult. I mean who really uses BING? Why are they even trying? Give up and let Google win. You see I enjoy supporting underdogs. Microsoft used to be the biggest Titan on the block but it has been usurped by Google. So it’s really interesting where this might lead. Trust me, I’m humble about it all. I mean, who hires an Apple fanboy to work at Microsoft? :) Someone who’s smart and realizes outside thinking is exactly how you move a company toward progression.

Technology isn’t static. What’s big now might not be the dominant player in two years. Look at Yahoo. Everyone thought they were dead like Snake Plisken. Disruptive innovation is the way of the world. This discipline is my lifeblood. No one out there really knows me in tech circles. But if there is one time my actions can speak loudly this is the time. For those who have been so supportive I am grateful to call you a friend. To all my mentors I thank you for shaping me to be who I am today. For all those who I’ve been able to mentor I’ve learned more from you than I think you have from me. Ignore those “Millenials are selfish” articles written by clueless Boomer/Xers. For my detractors I also humbly thank you for giving me the fuel to prove you wrong.

If you find yourself in Seattle give me and Allison a shout. If you weren’t planning to visit, maybe rethink it. For those who want to work with me again from vendor or agency-land I’ll be in touch soon with an RFP. One absolute requirement. Growth hacking is a must. It’s essential you have a team that understands APIs. For those who want to hang out one last time before we depart in mid June we’ll do drinks in Manhattan on June 12th or 13th. Look for an invite.

Remember to never stop dreaming. Sometimes it’s the only thing in life we have to inspire us to move forward.

Speak to you soon on the social web…

“And the ceiling can’t hold us!!!” - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (Seattle reprazent)

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“When a problem comes along, you must BING it” - DEVO