Know when to fold 'em

I'm back.

In case you don't follow my personal travails, I've spent the last four months working for security software vendor StillSecure as their Cobia Product Evangelist. It was a dream job, or so I thought. The reality turned out to be that it's a dream job, just not my dream job. Any one with a clear head would have realized that a job titled "Product Evangelist" would be a marketing job. I obviously did not have a clear head when I took the job, because I would have realized at the time that I'm allergic to marketing and spin.

Last Tuesday, I resigned from the position. I realized I'm not built for the being a spokesperson for a product or company. The job had me stressed in multiple dimensions. I wasn't effective, I didn't know how to do the job and I didn't know enough to understand what I didn't know. I had a lot of fun with the travel and meeting end users face to face, but a lot of the behind the scenes work was foreign enough that I never knew if I was being effective or not. So I left before I could do any lasting damage to myself or the company.

This is all my way of saying that I'm back to writing for Computerworld. My hiatus is over and I'll be resuming my daily writing. You can look forward to seeing more of my cynical humor and commentary on the security industry as a whole. Many thanks to the folks at Computerworld for being understanding while I tried something new and different with my life. It's great to have people who'll support you even when you fail.

Know when to fold 'em

I'm back.In case you don't follow my personal travails, I've spent the last four months working for security software vendor StillSecure as their Cobia Product Evangelist. It was a dream job, or so I thought. The reality turned out to be that it's a dream job, just not my dream job. Any one with a clear head would have realized that a job titled "Product Evangelist" would be a marketing job. I obviously did not have a clear head when I took the job, because I would have realized at the time that I'm allergic to marketing and spin.

Know when to fold 'em

I'm back.In case you don't follow my personal travails, I've spent the last four months working for security software vendor StillSecure as their Cobia Product Evangelist. It was a dream job, or so I thought. The reality turned out to be that it's a dream job, just not my dream job. Any one with a clear head would have realized that a job titled "Product Evangelist" would be a marketing job. I obviously did not have a clear head when I took the job, because I would have realized at the time that I'm allergic to marketing and spin.

IT generalist or specialist? Thrasher votes for specialist

We're taught in school to be well-rounded. HR wants us to have a wide variety of skills. But IT management consultant Harwell Thrasher says that, in the business world, being a generalist is the ticket to mediocrity. "You’re much more likely to achieve career success if you get really good in one area than if you achieve moderate mastery in a number of different areas," he says in the latest edition of his newsletter. This could be considered either common sense -- if you agree -- or contrarian, given the spate of articles about the need for a broad mix of business and IT and soft skills.

IT generalist or specialist? Thrasher votes for specialist

We're taught in school to be well-rounded. HR wants us to have a wide variety of skills. But IT management consultant Harwell Thrasher says that, in the business world, being a generalist is the ticket to mediocrity. "You’re much more likely to achieve career success if you get really good in one area than if you achieve moderate mastery in a number of different areas," he says in the latest edition of his newsletter. This could be considered either common sense -- if you agree -- or contrarian, given the spate of articles about the need for a broad mix of business and IT and soft skills.

IT generalist or specialist? Thrasher votes for specialist

We're taught in school to be well-rounded. HR wants us to have a wide variety of skills. But IT management consultant Harwell Thrasher says that, in the business world, being a generalist is the ticket to mediocrity. "You’re much more likely to achieve career success if you get really good in one area than if you achieve moderate mastery in a number of different areas," he says in the latest edition of his newsletter. This could be considered either common sense -- if you agree -- or contrarian, given the spate of articles about the need for a broad mix of business and IT and soft skills.