Bird.

Bird is the word.

Another story to place in the “Microsoft Doesn’t Get It” file.

Agreed – why would you cut off one of the most prominent faces of your company? Especially someone who so many associate with Microsoft’s development efforts. This seems like a very myopic decision.

Agreed 100% Don rocked. Perhaps he will skeedaddle over to Apple and Smack it up there :D

Michael, you have a man crush. Admit it!

They still have 45,000 too many people to compete effectively on the web. Those ridiculous margins on client/server software and maintenance are a thing of the past. MSFT is WAY too fat. They’re stuck in the Innovator’s Dilemma – cash from Office & Windows is their greatest asset and greatest liability.

That seems like a big mistake. They are working so hard to innovate right now but have lost so much momentum with the web developer community. Don was an important ambassador in a space and network that could have really helped in turning the tide.

Agreed 100%

This is a huge loss for Microsoft. I’ve worked with Microsoft for years now and Don was a star. From his constant evangelism in the face of cynics, to closely working with start-ups to help them navigate Microsoft’s massive organization, Don was the ultimate ambassador.

Agreed…

One of the smartest minds there… what happened?

this just makes me really, really sad.

I was shocked to hear that he was laid off. Don has been at every big start-up event that I’ve been to recently. The BizSpark Program he spearheaded convinced us to switch to Microsoft Server. Before Don and Microsoft began appearing at so many events we viewed Microsoft as just another inovationless coporate giant, but he and everyone else at BizSpark made us take a second look. Whoever hires him next will be very lucky to have him.

Don is a really good advocate for Microsoft. He gave our startup a ton of good advice. He will be missed at MS but hopefully shows up somewhere interesting…

This article does point out a serious issue that Microsoft is creating. What is sadder is that Microsoft doesn’t have any post employment mechanism for keep connecting with ex-Employees. Ex-employees could continue to be a huge asset for the company.

If you look at the McKinsey model, ex-employees are a huge part of their model moving forward. They connect with them and do business with them.

I left Microsoft almost 4 years ago after a 10 year career. I’ve had plenty of touch points with the thousands of people I personally knew at the company but not once have been communicated to by the actual company. I have had seen a lot of natural outreach from the open source world and this is probably a big reason why I’ve embraced the LAMP stack, WordPress, and even have a few Macs floating around.

Don, I never knew you but did know Dan’l and know he surrounded himself with rock stars. Best of luck to you as there is definitely life after MSFT.

What a huge mistake on Microsoft’s part. To the startup world, Don has always put a very approachable, very human face on a company that often tends to seem just the opposite. I’m excited to see what Don does next.

Michael, you are letting personal affection to Don clout your news reporting. This should be placed under personal opinion.

Regardless of what Don did for the company and how much he was respected and adored by you and others, my personal experience has led me to believe that someone as public as Don was is not let go without a good reason. We are not talking about a low level developer who was let go. Most likely, Microsoft had its reasons.

The fact that Don was professional and did not badmouth Microsoft and was concerned about you badmouthing them (I guess he knew what your first instinct would be) is a testament to his professionalism and impeccable work ethics.

Most likely, Don knew exactly why he was let go and was okay (as much as possible) with their decision.

wow, being from Boston and seeing him at all of the local events, he was the GOOD I associated with Microsoft. I wonder if Microsoft realizes just how many young entrepreneurs look up to Don Dodge.

Damnit. I admire Don. He got me, somewhat, motivated to be an entrepreneur in the 2.0 world. Damn.

Couldn’t agree more – Don’s one of the best guys I’ve ever worked with (both professionally and personally), definite mistake by MS.

Agreed. Sigh.

Surprise move for Microsoft no doubt, but can’t wait to see what Don Dodge’s next move is. Best of luck to him.

Great tribute. But curious, why do we (in biz culture) see it as a sign of character to refuse to say anything bad about a company that screws us? I get it as a gesture of old-fashioned decorum, but it’s generally not the ethical obligation of the disempowered to protect the powerful…

Agreed. It is not a good decision by MS

Complete agreement – Don was great, he sat on a panel we hosted at SESNY earlier this year and was exceedingly professional and knowledgeable.

He’ll have no issue whatsoever landing on his feet, and I think it’s not a bad idea to follow his movement to see a company that knows how to attract good people.

Millions of lines of code take lots of people. In the little time I got to spend at MSFT (as an employee of a partner company), I didn’t see much fluff. On the other hand, I am sure that the pre-collapse “boom” of ’04-’08 saw them adding some small percentage of mostly unneeded folks, as the same happened at thousands of other companies.

Still, they’re profitable, they’re competitive, and they’re moving forward, so you really can’t make the claim otherwise without some really, ridiculously solid evidence.

Really a sad thing so hear about. Don was always amazing to watch and work with. A huge loss.

[...] and at play, Microsoft still is an important part of my normal work day. But with the release of Don Dodge (who I have met at a couple of conferences, and listened to him speak) was the face of the current [...]

This make me said

I think you missed the entire point here.

First, the reason Mr. Dodge was let go is no mystery. It’s the reason every other person in the history of the world has been let go (as opposed to being fired). It’s called Cost Cuts.

If I had to guess I’d say Microsoft probably felt this market didn’t justify a full time person (given most startups aren’t interested in Microsoft technologies)

The point of the post/comments here is to say that logic is wrong and that firing your ambassador to the startup community is short sighted on Microsoft’s part. There is an emotional response but that’s in addition to the otherwise logic based conclusion.

There is no problem in lamenting someones’ departure from a company, but singling him out as a special loss kind of lessens the personal tragedy to everyone who needs to clear their desks and have an emergency family meeting….

Maybe Don “doesn’t get it” and why MS decided to let him go. I don’t know who or what Don did. I’m just throwing out the other side of a possible coin.

Great… Now I have go to see for myself to support it. Stupid internet.

Couldn’t agree with this more.

Only if you let it.

I approached Don at TC50 ’08 looking for contacts within MSFT. I expected someone of his stature from MSFT to either blow me off completely or answer as quickly as he could so he could get away. His response was the exact opposite. Not only was I surprised to hear he was familiar w/ my company but he stopped to talk for a minute and promised to follow up w/ an introduction via email, which he did two days later. Michael’s take on this is 100% accurate… this was a stupid move by MSFT.

Job changes are emotional and personal, whether they are a surprise, deserved, one person or 800. Don has a great opinion on this, and I think he should. I’ve admired Don and his work ever since I caught the Web 2.0 and blogging bug several years ago. He was a mainstay on my blogroll, back when that was more commonplace. I am sure that with his talent and connections, he will end up somewhere great that is lucky to have him soon.

This move by MSFT is damn puzzling.

Don, all the best going forward!

I am old DEC-hand myself. You would think after living through that debacle, Micro$oft is the last place he would have to worry about. Pretty funny the new email is gmail and not live.com

Good luck Mr. Dodge they will be banging at your door.

As an employee of a BizSpark company, I am sad to see a person who was clearly excellent at his job be let go. For every thing….there is a time.

In a little ironic twist, I loved that according to his blog, his new email is a Gmail account. HA!

Bird.

Bird is the word.

It is a shame to see Don go. He has been a smart and thoughtful advocate for Microsoft, and a good friend. I have no doubt that he will land somewhere great next.

Hopefully after this article, Don will find a better and well deserving position than this.

This makes absolutely no sense. He was literally the face of microsoft to the startup community. He’s done a hell of a great job at it. Layoffs are sad, but they’re usually reserved for people you can let go of. Don Dodge was NOT one of those people. He was actually the opposite: someone that microsoft needed to make sure they never let go. I’m pretty shocked.

I don’t understand this. Its not really sad, just a stupid decision by Microsoft. People like Don are in high demand, so this probably is a blessing in disguise for him.

Don was our go-to guy at MSFT for the first several years of Xobni. He really helped us navigate that big machine and I’m really thankful for all of his help. This makes the distance between san francisco/boston and seattle seem even further..

Ah, yes, Microsoft. Sitting with $37 Billion of cash and equivalents on its Balance Sheet. Needs to cut cost why again? Oh, right, to make Wall Street happy so the execs stock holdings go up. Watch them sell.

Wonder how many of those let go will be H1-b’s?

This company should be HIRING. Investing in people to improve products, processes, R&D, add long-term value to the company. Instead, we get layoffs to please short-term Wall Street speculators and executives.

A once respected American company is now just another evil corporate giant, headed by over-paid executives too lazy or stupid to generate additional revenue rather then cut costs to pump the stock price.

Glad that Google and Apple are handing MSFT their a$$es on a platter.

The reason for this type of lay-off usually falls into three categories:

1. Don did not see eye to eye with one of his superiors.
2. Don’s salary didn’t justify his position.
3. His superiors were clueless to Don’s contributions to the tech community.

Which is it?

Mr. Dodge may be too good of a person to occupy the position at Microsoft.

Mr. Dodge is a smart, sincere, hard working professional that takes his responsibilities and assigned tasks very seriously.

…the position, in Steve Ballmers eyes, is to trick the world into thinking this internal email by Bill Gates is no longer standard operating procedure:

http://antitrust.slated.org/www.iowaconsumercase.org/011607/2000/PX02991.pdf

People are scared of smart people.

I worked for Don at Bowstreet and he is a standup guy. Don, come consult for us at Dimdim! You have my number.

Steve

The same reason why they fired Scoble … lots of talk but no idea how to bring in any revenue

Typical move of an out-of-touch corporation. It validates the common perception. Microsoft has no soul.

Your comment at the end reads, “He wasted all that time, apparently”. I understand the frustration but just because someone doesn’t stay at a company doesn’t mean all the work they did was a waste and wasn’t worth it. I’m sure Don doesn’t think it is a waste and neither should you. But yeah microsoft is a big shitty corporation..

A smart startup (or TechCrunch?) would snatch this guy up in a heartbeat. I wish I could.

Don is the best! If we had the money in our startup I would hire him quick!

unbelievable. totally. MSFT has gone crazy. Didn’t they think about developers, developers? Well, many developers, developers considered MSFT for this man. “Great work” of Ozzie. Idiots.
Any VC should be more than happy to have him is a general partnet

This sums it up pretty well.

This sums it up pretty well.

#FAIL

So, how am I supposed to feel about the BizSpark program prospects now?

Stock holders don’t care what a great guy Don is.

I have followed his blog for years. He’s pure class. Someone will snap him up in a second.

Michael,
First of all, your post very controlled. Thanks for that….
Someone else would have used a lot harsh words for that but you stayed balanced……

MSFT recently has gone even worst-
I am told that they fired folks from Danger acquisition couple of months back under “Performance” category to avoid paying second year retention bonus……

Now tell me what do you think?

IMHO, MSFT NEEDS NEW TOP management (like replace of Steve B).

So MS is doing better, Don doesn’t say a bad word about them, and you trust Don, but you don’t believe the good things he says about them?

Ah ok, thanks for clarifying what I should think about Microsoft.

Good luck Dan and thanks for all your help in the last few years
Best,
Vassil and the blogtronix team

Bad MSFT

I am with you

Don will continue be a great community leader and I’m sure we’ll hear more from him in the future.

This kind of bothered me though…

“His reaction to today’s news shows what kind of person he is. I reached him by telephone just an hour after he heard the news. And he didn’t have a bad word to say about Microsoft. He was more concerned that I not write anything negative about the company than anything else.”

…And yet you ignored his request. I’d be willing to be charitable both to a man whose opinion I highly respect and to his former employer and not suggest that his work was wasted or that this wasn’t a difficult decision made with good intentions. For Don’s sake, give them some credit.

$20 he will be working for Google.

There’s good and bad in everyone and in everything. Don evidently evangelised Microsoft to the start-up crowd. It’s not a contradiction to say that Don contributed to those parts of Microsoft that were worth shouting about, but it’s clear that other parts of Microsoft are as corporately out-of-touch as ever. In the tension between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Microsoft, Don stood for good, but the bad won out in the end and Don was unceremoniously toppled.

I met Don at Napster. He was a terrific team member there (under very tough circumstances) and has consistently been a great advocate for MIcrosoft by _doing_, not yakking. Really bad call.

So Arrington should just have ignored the story? Friends compel us to do all sorts of things, but we are all free to do what we think is right. Despite Don’s continued support of his former employer, Arrington has been compelled to speak out in his capacity as a tech commenter.

Good point. I’m sure he will be snatched up in record time by another company who will pay him even more for the solid work he does.

Thank you all. I really appreciate the comments. I read every one…and they make this day a little easier to deal with.

The hardest part is telling my wife and sons what happened. I don’t have any answers. So I think I will just point them to this post and all the comments.

Thanks,

Don Dodge

I’m certain no one would believe that the only two options available are ignoring the story and writing it as he did. There are certainly more charitable ways of delivering this message, as Don himself has done on his blog and as he asked Michael to do.

Microsoft should just read this, realize that they get 10x the ROI from whatever they pay him, and hire him back today with a mea cupla.

What a shame, fantastic guy who did more for Microsoft than they could ever have appreciated. Clearly didn’t appreciate in the fullness of time.

He did put forward the best possible face for Microsoft. It is Microsoft’s loss.

Notice the public email address Don provided. Gmail. Yup. Not one from Microsoft.

That says volume about his confident in Microsoft service. Maybe this layoff is a bless in disguise ?

Perhaps this humanizes layoffs.

say hello to:
big business
stock holders
profit margin
profit margin
profit margin

if big businesses followed the same game plan as startups, then we wouldn’t need startups

My thoughts exactly. Standing up for the guy by saying he wasted years of his life… not the kind of tribute I’d appreciate, although I’m sure the sentiment was understood.

MINDBLOWING mistake

Mr. Dodge -

I never got to meet you, but I am all the poorer for that according to these comments. I hope one day to be able to do that. Sometimes its easy to bash Microsoft, and I do that a lot myself. But we forget that there are good people there, too. Your reluctance to say bad things about them shows that you have one thing that will always hold you in good stead: class.

I would suggest that you contact a company that is actively hiring folks to ‘move innovation forward’, but they really need help in their ‘human contact’ department (or at least I think they do). Sounds like you could really give them a hand:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/investing-in-innovation-at-google.html

Best of luck moving forward.

Cheers,

- Bill

Very concerning if these big companies are laying off employees, especially those that gives extreme value. I guess it’s all about comparing value versus cost. It’s almost depressing. I’m sure it’s MS lost and some other company’s win.

I had the opportunity to meet Don at the TC50 show this year…very nice guy.

Aside from his responsibilities as a judge on the main stage, Don took the time to check out all the companies in the demopit and give some nice words of advice to the entrepreneurs.

He also had great insight to share on his #twist appearance.

I wouldn’t be surprised if some other company already has an offer out….

Good Luck Don!

according to crunch base, the VP Don Dodge reports too has a degree in … politics. aha.

This is indeed a sad day, but someone with that kind of track record and strength of character will fortunately almost always move on to bigger and brighter things.

PS: Your Bio widget needs an update. :)

Their loss is someone else’s gain. I know Don is the man. You know he’s the man. We all know he’s the man. There are tons of web facing companies with APIs and tools that need a champion to help foster adoption. He’ll be fine and this is just the bump he needs to move forward in his career. He didn’t have anything bad to say because he has at least a year’s worth of six figure severance to go rock it somewhere. Why are we crying again?

Strange, MSFT is gearing up its startup outreach in the Boston/Cambridge area and yet they drop Dodge…

Anyone with a modicum of intelligence can figure out new employers don’t want to hire people who trash their previous employers.

Think about that… my last employer was awesome when I worked there, but terrible when I got fired?

That means I’m either insincere while working there or bitter when I’m fired and going to do the same thing to you when you fire me.

That is a great comment, well done you.

I mean, there are a ton of comments here who actually do know “who or what Don did” and make it clear this is a huge loss for Microsoft.

But luckily those people who prefer their opinions a little less informed can rely on you to “[throw] out the other side of a possible coin” (whatever that murdered metaphor means) based on your self-confessed total lack of knowledge.

Stupid internet, indeed. Astonishing.

[...] @dondodge dondodge: RT @arrington TechCrunch Microsoft Loses Don Dodge. This Is A Huge Mistake http://bit.ly/21fbYZ – Thanks, Mike chrisbrogan: Happy that soxial media sales works – [...]

With what’s he’s done with M$, he’ll hopefully be able to get a decent job elsewhere even in this economy, though it has to be said this really was a bad move.

I’m sure Don will quickly find ‘The next big thing’ in his career.
Could it be that everything is caused by a strange bug in the software of their HR department? Actually I hope so.

This is an idiotic move by MSFT. Don was arguably the face of Microsoft to the start up community in Boston, Silicon Valley and Hollywood. Best of luck to Don as he finds his next gig which I’m sure will be at a company with a brighter future than Microsoft.

+1

He is going to work for Apple

Being the bright guy he is, Don will quickly find ‘The next big thing’ in his career. That’s for sure.

As for Microsoft, I really hope that this was a strange bug in the software running in their HR department. No other explanations. No.

Being the bright guy he is, Don will quickly find ‘The next big thing’ in his career. That’s for sure.
As for Microsoft, the only explanation that seems realistic to me is a really strange bug in the software running their HR department. Software bug. No other explanation. No. Other. Explanation.

Being the bright guy he is, Don will quickly find ‘The next big thing’ in his career. That’s for sure.
As for Microsoft, the only explanation that seems realistic to me is a bug in the software running their HR department.
Software bug. No other explanation. No. Other. Explanation.

I wouldn’t be sad for the guy. He’ll probably end up doing way better than Microsoft where he is obviously undervalued.

Don Dodge. Wow. The times we both shared. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we’d make meat helmets.

Don is super smart! I think he will do better on his own than with Microsoft.

A new chapter where Don Dodge is the title not Stevie B.

No corporate restrictions just pure tech and startups…

The outpouring of sentiment is well deserved and Mike’s post is right on. It’s sad when companies fail to understand that sales need to be supported by reputation.

Don did much more for strengthening Microsoft’s reputation than any ad campaign ever could.

They have no idea how much they have lost.

MSFT doesn’t get it Twitter List anyone?

I wish him luck. Definitely a mistake by MS, but what they heck, I’m sure he’s already talking to others.

And why can’t people pony up the $8 a year for their own domain and put their blog on their own domain rather than a subdomain at type pad?

Not so fast! I worked with Scoble and he wasn’t fired. He left to be part of a startup. Scoble didn’t have to bring any revenue, and he brought what he promised, so I think if he wanted he would still be there.

I didn’t meet Don, although I worked in the same division. I believe he didn’t have to bring revenue either, and he was delivering. He is probably victim of his entire program being killed, which is, nevertheless, myiopic, as Arrington said.

It is not the fisrt time MS throws the baby with the water. They killed the Digital Media Division and disbanded once the IE team. I am still a MS fanboy, but this kind of decision is appalling.

Charitable to whom? Don doesn’t need charity; neither does Microsoft. You think Arrington should have ignored his feelings on this and written, what, a light-hearted article? An ironic one? A postmodern one? Arrington has shown up the enormous error Microsoft has made and it seems as though the vast majority here agree with the sentiment.

I worked with Don at Napster, where he was VP Product Development and I was VP Marketing, and have considered him a dear friend, respected colleague, and source of inspiration ever since. Don was a person within Microsoft to whom startups could relate and feel comfortable & understood: that in itself says a great deal.
I have no doubt that Don will be snatched up instantly (if he wants to be) by any of several kinds of organizations which need his increasingly rare skills.

I do think Microsoft get it. They layoff people in USA to reduce the cost and increase numbers of workers outside USA

maybe he wanted to leave MSFT? the layoff gave him a pkg to walk away and do good elsewhere.

Remember, besides the talent , good fit should also be politically fit else they will let go. That is the pragmatism. There is no rule that one should stay just because he or she is a good performer.

I don’t get it. Michael is trying to screw him up further? Remember, Company asks the employees to sign the agreement if they want to get the package. I don’t think he will get the package after this story.

Go lay under a bus.

I WILL admit to having a man crush on Don. Faithful reader of his blog. He is by far the most knowledgeable person I’ve never met when it comes to the music industry as it relates online (especially the Napster days). If I had the kind of money it would take to hire a Don Dodge, I would in a HEARTBEAT – if for no other reason than as a mentor, he would be invaluable. There’s no one in the tech world I have greater respect for. Seriously.

Wish him the best.

Both Scoble and Dodge were well worth their salaries even if you can’t point to specific dollars.

Whatever. Guys like this bounce back even better. If you’re such a start-up guy then have at er Don.

Cubicle jobs get old fast, and employers know when ambitious staff have itchy feet. Getting laid off was the best thing that EVER happened to me.

Met Don a few times at numerous events including TC50

Without conjecturing as to the “why?”s I’d like to echo everyone’s sentiments that Microsoft really screwed up in letting one of their most visible champions go.

Was this decision made by one of those actors they have in their new Windows 7 ad campaigns?

cry me a river.
one of your blogger friends gets laid off, and we are all supposed to lose respect for microsoft… blah.

Zing!

Proof that inmates are running the asylum when it comes to MSFT. Moronic move. Don Dodge is one of the few good things to come out of Microsoft.

[...] Microsoft Loses Don Dodge. This Is A Huge Mistake, TechCrunch [...]

Don who?

[...] way to get help in finding an Entry Level Job!I was reading TechCrunch today when news broke that Don Dodge was laid-off from Microsoft. Normally, this wouldn’t make many waves, but what caught my eye was how he handled the [...]

The best part is that in his blog post, he says his new email address will now be a gmail account, not a “live” account. Love it.

I’m assuming there is a bigger reason. My assumption is that he will be replaced by someone else fairly quickly. However – I don’t understand it, and obviously neither does Dodge or Techcrunch.

He must have gotten a decent severance package, and I bet that he has signed a non-compete. In any case, I don’t think Apple would have him.

paramendra kumar bhagat who?

” If I had the kind of money it would take to hire a Don Dodge, I would in a HEARTBEAT – if for no other reason than as a mentor, he would be invaluable.”

Ditto!

Don, perhaps you can start an incubator or support existing incubators by serving as an advisor to a whole bunch and connecting dots (people/companies/technology) at a very high level.

Would love to see you more in Canada.

I just don’t understand why they would do this now – days after a Win 7 launch. You would think they would need him more then ever right now…strange…

Yes, Microsoft has become a bloated, slow to move bureaucracy. They need better productivity out of their employees, and maybe downsizing will light a fire under them.

I still cannot fathom how the company does not have a credible competing product to iPhone and now Android, totally inexcusable.

macrohard…

Firing @Ballmer would make sense.

Including @DonDodge in layoffs makes zero sense?

How could @Microsoft not know that they had an amazing ambassador on their roster?

Excited to see what you do next. I’m sure the offers will be many and will come from those who understand what an asset you are. (Ask for twice the $ :)

Microsoft tells BNO News it is not cutting 800 more jobs in addition to the 5,000 announced in January, despite Associated Press report. http://twitter.com/BreakingNews/status/5431322230

MS can afford Lose and make all the mistakes it wants too. It’s only a loss when the owners are lifestyle downsizing or have to move to a smaller house.

I want to go on the record here in support of Don, who besides being insightful, and classy to no end, is without a doubt one of the most approachable, likable, and genuine people in the tech space. His invaluable contribution to Microsoft is clearly evidenced by the comments here and in every conversation about him.

“He wasted all that time, apparently. “…huh? They paid for his time and commitment. Its nothing less than I would expect from a pro and I think you do Don a disservice by saying that he wasted his time!

I think any company needing an evangelist should pounce on the guy.

Don:

In tough times, some good companies let great people go. Your insight and communication skills are bigger than any one company.

I hope you can enjoy time with your family and find out later than this turns out to be an opportunity.

Best, sj.

Yeah paul. This is a great comment. Too bad TechCrunch loves to remove comments as well from people with which they disagree.

I have put a comment about how Microsoft most likely had a reason to get rid of Don considering his role and visibility. My mistake was that I added that Michael Arrington was letting his affection of Don get in the way of news reporting. My comment disappeared about 5 minutes later… All subsequent comments also disappeared. When did TechCrunch start censoring comments?

Yeah paul. This is a great comment. Too bad TechCrunch loves to remove comments as well from people with which they disagree.

I have put a comment about how Microsoft most likely had a reason to get rid of Don considering his role and visibility. My mistake was that I added that Michael Arrington was letting his affection of Don get in the way of news reporting. My comment disappeared about 5 minutes later… All subsequent comments also disappeared. When did TechCrunch start censoring comments?

Don,

This was a massive mistake on Microsoft’s part. You won’t have a problem finding something where you can make a big impact.

Good luck!

Jason

I was not fired. I sure wish you’d call Jeff Sandquist who still works at Microsoft and get your facts straight. As to all talk? I did more than 500 interviews at Microsoft, all with my video camera aiming at other employees. The results we got are well documented, but I don’t think you are interested in the facts so I’ll just move on.

Yeah. This makes me bummed out too. Just talked with Don and he did the same thing with me that he did with Mike. Someone will hire him quickly. Any startup he joins will be much more likely to raise funding and get covered by both me and TechCrunch.

I’d say #1 and #3. Usually guys like Don aren’t paid what the market will pay anyway. Everyone I know who has left Microsoft is now paid more than MSFT was paying.

[...] and at play, Microsoft still is an important part of my normal work day. But with the release of Don Dodge (who I have met at a couple of conferences, and listened to him speak) was the face of the current [...]

Everything I need to know about Scoble I learned from Valleywag.com

Yeah. A tragedy. A nice guy who talked up Microsoft and talked to startups. Sounds like he deserved guaranteed, lifetime employment…..

I was laid off by MSFT a while back due to the acquisition of my company. The cuts were quite arbitrary and not based whatsoever on previous performance reviews. Just a bean counter pushing beans around. When it comes down to it you are just a robot to MSFT and they couldn’t give two shits about their employees. Guess what? I work for a major competitor now and we steal their customers away daily due to my in depth knowledge of MSFT weaknesses. This round of layoffs will produce another 800 Microsoft haters in the world who will like nothing more than to see them fail. Congratulations Mr. Balmer. MSFT is a leaking ship and you’ll be the last one off.

what a big deal!? come on?! It is sad for Don Dodge, of course. And I am sure he will do fine!

Microsoft is not evil because of this! Apple turn down people, and google also. That is the market!

GROW UP, microsoft bashers!

you people, cheerlead for google.
History repeats itself!
First as a tragedy (microsoft), secondly as a FARSE (google)

Don is a legend and some lucky start-up is going to nab him.

This was a stupid move.

Er ‘Jim/Mij’ – I’ve just scrolled down the thread and your comment appears to be there.

Some comments posted here are automatically moved to a moderation queue if they look like spam/abuse. Judging by the fact that you posted the above twice under two different (and curiously anagrammatic) names, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why your previous comment took a few extra minutes to be approved.

There are plenty of anti-Arrington/TC comments posted here. Get off your conspiracy horse.

Robert you are everywhere!

Don

I’m sorry you learned this lesson that late. I don’t understand how an all time employee can inspire any entrepreneur. Companies like Microsoft insult entrepreneurs because of their power.

I hope you don’t join Oracle, and if you do stop mentoring entrepreneurs from the comfort zone

well done Microsoft, get rid of the old and replace by cheaper and fresher

I hope you all learn a country’s economy needs less folks like this gentleman and more real entrepreneurs

Paul,

No conspiracy. Just how the commenting system works. If you read my comment above, you will be hard pressed to categorize it as either spam or abuse. Your commenting system might be doing this automatically, but it sure as hell does it more with negative sounding comments than with positively sounding comments. Perhaps, you need to change the sensitivity of the “system” which reviews the comments. :-) Given that my post had no links, bad language, or anything else that would constitute as spam/abuse, it should not have been flagged.

Tom,

Whether it was done for cost cuts or because their currently research did not justify a full time person, Microsoft did what they though was logical. No one can sit here and say that it was not logical unless they were in their shoes.

I can say that it is not logical to me that TechCrunch reviews every other Apple iPhone app that comes out (well, maybe not every single one) and does not review other mobile platforms’ apps but I am not in TC’s shoes. Perhaps the majority of TC readers are iPhone users. Perhaps TC’s trending shows that people are more interested in it. Perhaps MG has nothing better to do than review Apple remote controls and comment on the placement of the play/pause button. Again, what is illogical to me might be logical to TC.

The fact that letting go Don was a mistake on their end is clear to those who perhaps do not know why he was let go. You never know, maybe they got Google’s web 2.0 evangelist and have not announced it yet.

While opinions are great, I thing coming to a foreground conclusion nearly an hour after he was let go is bad in my opinion.

Just my two cents…

[...] notare quanto riportato da TechCrunch, con Michael Arrington che ha raggiunto telefonicamente Don Dodge che nemmeno un’ora dopo il [...]

THere is no loyalty in big corps! Rouge is the way to go

[...] #FDAsm RT @dondodge: @arrington TechCrunch: Microsoft Loses Don Dodge. This Is A Huge Mistake http://bit.ly/21fbYZ – Thanks, Mike RT @digiphile Standards Lessons from the Web from healthcare #CIO @jhalamka: [...]

I wonder why MSFT in one of the top three most attractive places to work for.

How do you think IBM is still in business? Offshoring jobs is Palmisano’s business model.

Everything I learned about Scoble was in this one single post.

[...] notare quanto riportato da TechCrunch, con Michael Arrington che ha raggiunto telefonicamente Don Dodge che nemmeno un’ora dopo il [...]

The more likely trend is a general bias of preaching to the converted. However, I do tend to agree with the parent comment in that Microsoft’s reasoning is as of yet not fully explained.

On the surface his loss appears to be a mistake by MS, but perhaps we don’t know the whole story. Maybe in a few days we’ll find out he’s actually a two headed right wing republican troll who snacks on babies in his free time and MS was no longer able to cover up his atrocities.

Or more likely some VP or higher had the genius idea of a strategy “re-think” and Don no longer fit the picture that McKinsey painted for said VP.

While reading this post, I notice a very purty Windows 7 mid-rec ad running on this page. :)

I’ll go one further, after myself and 30% of the building in a flyover state were laid off, our ‘v-’ hr person mentioned to me that M$ told our (former) company they were “strongly discouraged from rehiring” anyone who had been laid off. The 30% included a roughly even mix of fte’s and vendors.

So much for good will.

maybe Yahoo can grab him?

I read his blog post and noticed that he’s telling people to contact him via gmail.com, not live.com or hotmail.com. Not sure there’s any real conclusions to draw from it, but it struck me as odd.

Don was the (human) face of Microsoft to many in the startup world. One has to wonder how much Microsoft cares about that community now.

I sold the last of my MSFT stock today. I would have sold it sooner had I installed Vista when it came out.

People are quick to blame and crucify Microsoft amongst other companies for things like this. I’m sure that they have their reasons.

Did it ever occur to people maybe they want someone younger with newer idea’s and energy to offer the company? Obviously not.

Obviously the guy is getting older and he’d be retiring sometime soon anyway. He’ll be poached by Google in the next few days.

I love how this article pretty much paints Microsoft as some evil corporation because they laid off someone. Sure it was stupid, but Don obviously feels that the time he was there was not in vain or wasted.

TechCrunch isn’t an honourable publication most of the time when it comes to stories like this especially.

Microsoft can do whatever they wish. If they don’t want Don, it’s their choice. Don’t crucify them for making a business decision even if it wasn’t a good one.

Spare a thought for the other employee’s fired who won’t find it as easy to get a new job in this current tough economy. I don’t see you writing articles about them, and I’m sure they put in as much work as Don did.

Maybe he did something stupid … … you really don’t know. A RIF can obscure a lot of other reasons for letting people go.

As big/fat as MS, I would not bet against them.

Unbelievable. Don seriously is the face of Microsoft to COUNTLESS startups. He made the company approachable.

Plus the number of people he was able to convert many from using a competitors product just from the things he did… not from selling them.

Microsoft made a bad move today. HOWEVER, I personally believe we won’t be seeing Don just vanish and I am sure he will be turning up as an important leader and thinking elsewhere.

No he didn’t waste a minute from that time if he was able to make you speak so highly of him now :-) And from the description of the person I am certain he enjoyed every minute spent there so … Look, leaving M$$ ain’t that bad anyway :-)

don is a good guy but too entrepreneurial for microsoft… microsoft and start-up don’t go together and don finally found out

Klaus,
You are only half right.

There are people like you describe but there are many people who are very objective and will express their opinions frankly.

There is certain level of concern among some of us as to why MSFT does this stupid things when it is in such great financial condition but NOT able to innovate fast enough and not getting on the good side.

You are failing to understand this. Shame on you….

I dont like Google that much myself but they are able to innovate and develop an ecosystem around them which will become so much effective that MSFT will have have a chance.

If MSFT does see hear the drums from the distance, they will go the way other once powerful companies went.

There is so much value MSFT added to the PC industry that it will be awful to waste all that.

Hope you GET it now.

too fast fingers……
Correction-
If MSFT does not hear the drums from the distance, they will go the way other once powerful companies went.

I hope this propels Don to greater things that he simply couldn’t accomplish in a 90000 people company. The startup world needs him more than Microsoft does, and he probably saved some lifer’s job at Microsoft.

And I sincerely does not hope he joins a VC firm, if he does, startup world would have lost once more..

Nice hearing from one of the better examples of great MSFT partners in the ecosystem which built a great product – Xobni (I think I met one of your reps at #spc09 – the SharePoint conference)…

It will be interesting to see what the new MSFT strategy for engaging / fostering the partner ecosystem will be now that D. Dodge is no longer part of that picture.

Yeah but they don’t have towels in the parking garages anymore.

It blows my mind how as a company you’d pay hundreds of thousands of $ to fly Don around the country create a positive image, an evangelist.. who stands up for MS… helps to connect and shows the positive in MS.
What message does this send to the community when you then after all that go and fire that person?

I mean seriously, it means they don’t see startups as a target, it means they are not really interested in improving communications, be more human…

Quite frankly to us a startup in seed mode.. it just means we simply will avoid MS products. If they can’t see this.. that shows that their business sense is just screwed….

Bye bye MS… one more of many nails in your coffin…

same here, he’s the only blogger in the startup space that I would remember from Microsoft.

“I did more than 500 interviews at Microsoft, all with my video camera aiming at other employees. The results we got are well documented [...]”

That sounds interesting. I for one would like to hear a little more about the reasons for it and the conclusions drawn from the recordings.

Don’s blog is having high-time it seems.

Average visits : 300
Today : 26,833

Look sitemeter stats Here

Is that Akismet you’re using?

Love your product.

The article isn’t so much about Microsoft being “evil” for laying off Don, but rather for being foolish and short sighted. As many people in the comments have pointed out (and I whole-heartedly agree), Don was an extremely well known, well liked, and effective evangelist for the MS brand, particularly among the startup community which tends to have an anti-MS bias.

Yes, MS is free to do whatever they want, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t highlight their foolishness when they do.

They fired the wrong guy on that team. Tom Halabi should have been whacked. That guy is completely useless! Sorry to see Don go.

The reason might be that he used @gmail.com at work or personally?

P.S. Ballmer had an iphone moment in MS company meeting.. Crash it!

He has clones. 7 of them. One is drinking coffee with me right now.

Look, just because Don was laid off doesn’t mean he won’t find another job within Microsoft. That’s the way things work. Microsoft gives you a certain number of days to find another job and, if you do, great; otherwise, you get the severance package, and you can ply your trade elsewhere. I know a guy who was laid off, they paid him severance to the tune of 18 months, and then they hired him back 6 months later. He was laughing his way to the bank. Guys like Don land on their feet. I wouldn’t doubt if he finds another role within Microsoft sometime soon.

If Don was the only reason you were using Microsoft products, then you have a very strange business model.

You got to love the irony of leaving a gmail contact address in his leaving post.

Sorry but I ran out of notches to go down a couple of years ago.

Not surprised.

@Mij – Again, even if it was flagged (I have no idea) – it was very quickly approved. Seems like the system works pretty well.

[...] Microsoft Loses Don Dodge. This Is A Huge Mistake [...]

Travell, You are right. No one should cry tears for me. I will be fine. There are better things ahead, and I hope to have more to say soon.

The support from the tech community has been overwhelming. I had no idea. I truly appreciate it.

There have been lots of offers and requests to talk from the biggest names in the business. All the usual suspects. And lots of interesting startups are reaching out. I hope to take some time to evaluate where I can add the most value.

I have four criteria for my work; 1)Do I love the people I work with, 2)Is the product/company leading edge, 3)Am I learning new things, 4)Am I having fun. If those four elements are there…I’m in.

I hope to continue working in the startup world, either with a startup, with a VC firm, or with a company that cares about building and supporting the startup ecosystem.

Based on early indications (8 hours) I think something good will happen soon.

Thank you all for your support. It means a lot to me.

Don Dodge

Firing Scoble and now Dodge is not a great move. They both added value. Why did they make RIF lists when there is so many other candidates in front of them?

Regan, Thanks for your note. It was great to see you at TC50 ’08. I do my best to give time to every startup because I spent most of my career at startups. I know what it is like on the other side.

Startups are the life blood of our industry. It is where disruption and innovation happen.

Microsoft was a startup too. Just Bill and Paul Allen and an idea. Google was a startup not too long ago. Larry, Sergey, and an idea. You never know where the next big thing will come from.

Startups deserve respect for taking the risks and blazing the trails. I never want to be too far removed from that action. It has been my life, and I hope to continue adding value wherever I can.

Thanks,

Don Dodge

Hi Steve, Great to hear from you. I will be in touch. It has been a long time.

Don

You obviously do not have any clue.

Scoble WAS fired.

Isn’t this the same guy that said something along the lines of “I can’t believe your parents named you that” as he called out a guy’s name while giving out free zunes at this year’s TC50?

It’s business. People get laid off. Even smart people who work hard.

Corporations are like big monsters: at some point they try to eat themselves.

Unfortunately, Don may have reached the end of his useful life at MS and Steve Ballmer & Co. may have decided this is the best time for a golden handshake

This is something that happens in many organizations

Wish him luck:)

[...] news that Don Dodge had been laid off from Microsoft started percolating yesterday, my mind immediately jumped to a rather sad conclusion. If they let [...]

Shocking.

I am so sorry to hear that Don was laid off – Don was a panelist on my judges panel at TC50 ’08 and I think he is a wonderful guy – whoever gets him will be very very lucky. @dondodge, I wish you all the very best! Chris (@closetcouture.com)

[...] @kevinrose: agreed!!! RT @TechCrunch Microsoft Loses Don Dodge (@dondodge). This Is A Huge Mistake http://bit.ly/21fbYZ (via @arrington) Tags: fresh, [...]

I bet he got a ton of top job/business offers within an hour of the news of his layoff breaking. I don’t know many people who wouldn’t try to hire him immediately!

Microsoft’s actions speak louder than words. They speak about recruiting developers to their platform but have no idea how to do it. Laying off Dan speaks volumes on the mindset of their executive team.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/leadership/default.aspx

[...] From a comment on the TechCrunch post Don says: The support from the tech community has been overwhelming. I had no idea. I truly appreciate it. [...]

Google should hire Don.

Alex,

If that is the case, why is it that this article pretty much only calls-out Microsoft over laying off Don Doge as a foolish decision? Not the other 799 employee’s laid off who were no-doubt important team members too.

Let’s face it. If Don Dodge wasn’t laid off, nobody would be calling Microsoft foolish for laying off 800 nameless employee’s that aren’t Don Dodge.

I will admit though, I am a big fan of Don Dodge, he should be running Microsoft, not Balmer.

Robert Scoble on the other-hand, he just plain disgusts me. I’m glad he left Microsoft when he did. His image, the way he speaks and tries to get his name onto everything he comes near. He’s an attention seeking whore.

Don,

If you’re reading this I wish you luck. You know, I know and the rest of us know you’ll find a new job within a couple of weeks and that this TechCrunch story is more of a self-marketing advertisement than a rant about your firing.

Wouldn’t surprise me if Google poach you just to spite Microsoft for losing such a valuable team member.

Thanks, Ashton. I was shocked at being laid off, but even more shocked (pleasantly) by the reaction from people here, on my own blog, on Twitter, and Facebook. Amazing!!

Give of yourself and you get back 10 times as much when you really need it. I am overwhelmed by all the support and positive comments, especially from startup entrepreneurs.

Don’t feel sorry for me. This may be the best thing that has ever happened to me. Some of the opportunities that have surfaced are very interesting. There is a lot to consider.

Thanks,

Don Dodge

Hi Chris, I will be back as a judge next year…just with a different company/title. TechCrunch50 is the best tech show of the year. I’m working on bringing it to Boston this Spring. Now I have a little more time to devote to that task :-)

Don

Thanks, Alex. I am reading this, and every other comment here.

I appreciate the story Mike wrote, and all the comments here and on Twitter. I am humbled by the responses. I will do my best to continue the work somewhere else.

Things will work out just fine.

Thanks, Ray. You haven’t seen the last of me. Stay tuned. Good things are happening.

Don

Technology is about technology. But technology companies are often about culture. People like Don are the silent pillars of culture which when not there make the overall structure that much weaker.

Insane move by MS.

[...] go was Don Dodge, Microsoft’s Director of Business Development for the Emerging Business Team. TechCrunch reported that Dodge addressed the dismissal on his personal blog and didn’t have a negative thing to [...]

[...] Microsoft Loses Don Dodge. This Is A Huge Mistake [...]

This is a huge loss. Don was one of the inspirations behind my talk: “What Makes the Boston Start-Up Scene Special?” (http://bit.ly/905VV) and has helped make it happen here in Beantown.

[...] the Emerging Business Team michael arrington (Techcrunch Founder) has argued in favor of Dodge [ link ] Donald Dodge , Key employee of Microsoft has been laid-off Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a [...]

Thanks, Liz. But, hey, I didn’t die…just changing companies. I will be back stronger than ever. Can’t wait to get started…

Don

I’m starting to think there’s a connection between Steve B. arriving and Microsoft making all these idiotic moves.

Also, Steve, if you want people to take you seriously, please stop dancing at workshops? Much appreciated. There’s already a lot of views for “Developers! Developers!”

Anyway, I think Don can do better. He’s certainly very capable. Good luck, man.

Big loss for MSFT and a huge gain for the next company he will be joins…

ceo

[...] an earlier post, Arrington called the move a “huge mistake,” and others expressed similar sentiments. Dodge himself wrote on his blog the layoff [...]

My guess is he had his hand up shouting “take me, take me” so he can walk out with a package with all his options fully vested, freeing him to join, or start, another startup.

[...] was just 11 days ago that Microsoft’s “ambassador to startups” Don Dodge was laid off as part of a broader workforce reduction. Last week he showed up in Silicon Valley to “see [...]

[...] part of a global workforce cut down strategy, Microsoft recently fired Don Dodge, Microsoft’s “ambassador to startups” and a renowned industry specialists in [...]

[...] reactions from the tech community heavily favored Dodge. TechCrunch even shot a bizarre “exit interview” video during which Dodge was treated well and not harmed by his captor Michael [...]

I just saw clone #4 get into a fight with #2. (#2 won — you don’t mess with #2.)

[...] the TechCrunch post first announcing Don’s availability, Michael Arrington wrote how Don, “makes a big [...]

[...] news that Don Dodge had been laid off from Microsoft started percolating yesterday, my mind immediately jumped to a rather sad conclusion. If they let [...]

[...] Microsoft laid off Microsoft’s Director of Business Development Don Dodge last month we called it a huge mistake. He was Microsoft’s “ambassador” to startups and largely responsible for the [...]

[...] skeptical startup community. When he was laid off in November, TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington declared, “This is a huge mistake,” but Dodge quickly moved over to Google, where he’s taking on a [...]

damn! what’s wrong with you Jim Mij and Pij? =/

[...] Mr. Michael Arrington: Microsoft Loses Don Dodge. This Is A Huge Mistake [...]