You’re right, Jason - the voice behind “Developers, Developers, Developers” is Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. I thought it would be fun to include the clip over my podcast theme. Hearing Jason explain he had to pull over while laughing so hard makes it all worthwhile! I’ve seen few things that make people laugh so hard as the Ballmer performances, especially when you explain exactly who the guy is (“No, really!”). (Boris Yeltsin’s election campaign dance also comes to mind, though online footage is poor.)
In the podcast, I didn’t explain it, leaving listeners to either nod their heads knowingly or tilt their heads curiously. One thing I didn’t expect was a few people thought it was me (huh?)!!!! If you haven’t seen these clips, the Developers clip is actually tame compared to the “I love this company!” woo-woo effort. And if you listen carefully, there’s a little clip from that performance right at the end of the Ajax podcast.
Check out the mixup on that site too - I realy need to play it on the podcast sometime. Anyway, my podcasts are all speech for now until I work out a faster production mechanism. (Another reason to make the switch from Linux.)
Jeff Attwood was on the money when he blogged about “Steve Ballmer: Sweatiest Billionaire Ever”: “You have to respect a man with that much unbridled enthusiasm. I certainly can’t see staid, boring old Michael Dell dancing around on stage, screaming about how much he loves his company at the top of his lungs.” Dig the passion - I couldn’t agree more.
I’ve never heard the full story behind the “Developers” mantra, but I suspect it’s not what I initally assumed. Like most people, I originally assumed Ballmer was rallying the MS developers. But then I came across Joel Spolsky’s article where he uses the “Developers, Developers, Developers” catch-phrase to signify the company’s commitment to external MS developers. Joel’s an ex-Microsoftie and has great insight into the company. So, who exactly are all those clapping people in the clip? I’m guessing they’re the programmers who develop MS’s development tools, the managers who partner up with external developers, the marketing types who guide future directions … not just the MS developer community at large. Anyone, anyone?
