Scott Guthrie Gets an Image Makeover
I met a lot of amazing people at the ALT.NET conference, but the one that impressed me the most was Scott Guthrie. Besides being one of the nicest and most unassuming alpha-geeks I’ve ever met, he had an uncanny understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of not only Microsoft technologies, but a vast array of other technologies, languages, and open source frameworks.
In some ways, the ALT.NET Conference was the ultimate testament to the effectiveness of his soft-spoken style. Despite presenting to a crowd that tends to be vocally critical of Microsoft, he had clearly won the respect and undivided attention of almost every attendant by the end of his presentation on the new MVC framework. Even Scott Belware, who frequently publishes rabid anti-microsoft rants like this one, made a comment indicating that he wished Scott Guthrie was the top dog at Microsoft.
Although being a soft-spoken gentleman has its public relations benefits when interacting with the developer community, I fear that his current image isn’t quite as hip as some of his competitors, such as DHH, the creator of Rails, or Steve Jobs, the flamboyant founder of Apple.
In order to make this developer icon of Microsoft more competitive in the public relations realm, I’ve taken it upon myself to do some pro-bono image consulting and attempt to jazz up his image a little more.
Introducing the new developer face of Microsoft…Scott Guthrie…starring in his new action hero role…Unnecessary Force.
NOTE: Temporary issue with importing video. Go here to see jibjab video.
A special thanks to Scott Hanselman, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, Scott Bellware, and David Heinemeier Hansson for their riveting co-starring roles.
When you just need to
Absolute class - having Scott Belware in a Skirt was just comical genius.
Yes, I think I am most proud of that little divinely inspired details. I especially like how Scott looks smitten by the suave DHH. I probably lost my invitation to the next ALT.NET conference, but it was totally worth it …:-)
Yes, I am most proud of that little divinely inspired detail. I especially like how Scott looks coy and totally smitten by the suave DHH. I’ve no doubt just been uninvited to the next ALT.NET conference, but it was totally worth it…:-)
Hi Russell,
Thanks for putting together the video. My team actually found it earlier today and are enjoying it immensely. J
It was great meeting you at Alt.net – hope to see you again soon!
Scott
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From: Russell Ball [mailto:rt_ball@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2007 8:15 PM
To: Scott Guthrie
Subject: Thank you
I just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed meeting you at the ALT.NET conference in Austin earlier this month and appreciated the fact that you made the effort to attend. It couldn’t have been easy to present to a group of developers who have traditionally been very critical of Microsoft, but you represented yourself and your work very well. I was impressed with what you have done with the MVC framework so far and look forward to working with the beta bits.
Also, I thought you might enjoy a recent humor post I did on my blog that featured you as an action hero in a jib-jab video. I hope it gives you a chuckle.
Best Regards,
Russell Ball
Here’s an email response I got from Scott Guthrie tonight after I sent him a link to the video.
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Hi Russell,
Thanks for putting together the video. My team actually found it earlier today and are enjoying it immensely.
It was great meeting you at Alt.net – hope to see you again soon!
Scott
—————————–
From: Russell Ball [mailto:rt_ball@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2007 8:15 PM
To: Scott Guthrie
Subject: Thank you
I just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed meeting you at the ALT.NET conference in Austin earlier this month and appreciated the fact that you made the effort to attend. It couldn’t have been easy to present to a group of developers who have traditionally been very critical of Microsoft, but you represented yourself and your work very well. I was impressed with what you have done with the MVC framework so far and look forward to working with the beta bits.
Also, I thought you might enjoy a recent humor post I did on my blog that featured you as an action hero in a jib-jab video. I hope it gives you a chuckle.
Best Regards,
Russell Ball