Snapfish for lunch

I heard a really refreshing talk from Ben Nelson, General Manager at Snapfish, which is now owned by HP. Ben Nelson provided an overview of his very interesting and fast rise to a business leader. If I’m doing my math right, he’s around my age –early to mid-thirties.

Ben shared a few key pieces of career advice that really resonated with me:

·         Take different, interesting & potentially uncomfortable opportunities that come your way

·         Find ways to contribute to the business outside your “job description”

·         Understand where you can truly add value and turn down projects, positions, etc. where you cannot (even if they are a “promotion”); you will not likely enjoy or be successful in them

·         Doing good work is the one universal tenant that will help you be successful in a big company or small one

Snapfish is a service that I’ve used for years and it’s amazing how liking the leader of a business can strengthen that.

I initially started using Snapfish probably nearly 10 years ago, when the service was one that you would mail your 35MM film to and they’d process it incredibly cheaply –and put an album of your photos online for you, for free. I used the service for years until I upgraded to a digital camera and then I started using Yahoo Photos. When that closed down, I moved everything over to Shutterfly, which I had some technical difficulties with, so found a bit frustrating to use.

When I joined HP and learned that Snapfish was an HP subsidiary, I decided to give it another try. I was really impressed with what I found. Fast photo uploads, a really intuitive and easy interface.

That good user experience coupled with a new found respect for the man diving the ship has sealed the deal. I’m a Snapfisher–with an occasional Flickring in there to keep things interesting.

More senseless violence; the Bangalore blasts heard round the world

I rose incredibly early this morning (6:30am) for a conference call with some of my teammates scattered across the US. After a productive call, I was sitting here reveling in all that I’ll be able to get accomplished this morning because of my extra early start….just as soon as I get a cup of coffee, that is.

But before I could even get there, I jumped on Twitter and saw Om Maliks posting: Breaking: Blomb Blasts HIt Bangalore,Impact Be Felt in Silicon Valley and my heart sank.

Having lived and worked in Bangalore a few years ago, I still have alot of old colleagues, friends and an ex-boyfriend who are currently living and working there. The general sadness that one feels reading a story like that about anywhere in the world is compounded dramatically when you have loved ones in the area that could have been impacted.

These senseless acts of violence have always perplexed me. What on earth have the hard-working, warm, caring people of Bangalore done to deserve such horrors? There, or anywhere else, for that matter. The answer is: nothing. I feel sick.

I learn best by doing

I’ve always been someone who learns best by doing. 

I’ve wanted to start by own *real* blog for years, but found myself stuck asking the question of what I would blog about. Inspired by a conversation with the CEO of the PR agency I most recently worked for and the launch of his new blog focused on the lost art of corporate storytelling, Ishmael’s Corner, I’ve decided to take the plunge (pun absolutely intended) and join the fun.

Having somewhat recently joined one of -if not THE- world’s largest technology company, I’m finding myself in somewhat unchartered big, corporate territory.  A small fish in a very, very big bowl. And so, this blog will tell the stories of my experiences in a my very large new corporate fishbowl.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to work in a huge company (I know I always did), A Fish Out of Water will offer you a observations from the inside…