Gawker: valleywag, don dodge

Will Evangelize Your Tech Company for Food

Ryan Tate — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:23:19 EST

Don Dodge used to be an official evangelist for Microsoft, hyping the company's software and insulting its competitor Google. Then Microsoft laid him off, and Google hired him. Cue the bitter, flip-flopping blog post in which Dodge loudly switches sides.

According to quotes compiled by blogger Dan Lyons, Dodge used to say things like "Microsoft is a great company to work for" is "always putting employees first." But he's changed his tune, now that he works for Google. A new post on his personal blog starts with this dig at his old employer:

Laying off 5,000 people when you have $37B in cash and huge profits isnot cool. But hey, thanks for pushing me on to the Next Big Thing.

And suddenly, Dodge has a new viewpoint about Gmail. Before:

Even Microsoft's online version of Outlook called Outlook Web Access is far better than Gmail... Gmail... doesn't compare to Microsoft Outlook.

Now:

Outlook... was getting kind of tired. Gmail is new, fast, web based, and has all the features I need. I especially like the way it threads conversations making it easy to keep everything in context... One other subtle thing: no spam. I never realized how much corporate spam invaded my Microsoft inbox.

But he "realizes" now!

Dodge is also ditching a bunch of other Microsoft products. Here are the actual headers from his post, each followed by copious text promoting Google:

"Thanks Microsoft Office 2007, but I'm going to Google Docs." (Previously: "Google knows that on a feature comparison basis there is no contest. … Microsoft Office wins.")
"Thanks Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5, but I'm going to Google Android."
"Thanks Microsoft Internet Explorer, but I'm moving to Google Chrome."

Thanks for all the "thanks," Don, but the "fuck you" is still implied. Not that we're complaining.

(Pic: Dodge, by Jay Goldman)

Has Microsoft bought email startup Xobni? No, but its CEO is getting used to paperwork

Owen Thomas — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:40:00 EDT

At 10 a.m., Jeff Bonforte, the ex-Yahoo who's now CEO of Xobni, described his status on LinkedIn as "legal documents up to my ears." What could have him so submerged? Microsoft has long been rumored to be interested in Xobni, which makes a plugin for its Outlook software. Not long ago, Microsoft startup scout Don Dodge took the startup's small team to dinner, but Xobni's said to have balked at a sub-$20 million offer they viewed as lowball. If Bonforte has actually persuaded Microsoft to raise it, he'll have earned his pay. The irony, if a deal happens: Bonforte will likely end up working for Microsoft long before his former colleagues. Update: Xobni cofounder Matt Brezina tells me the legal documents are for intellectual-property licenses, not a sale. Sounds dreadfully boring — and good training for a career at Microsoft if the widely expected purchase goes through.

The three moneybags to pitch at Demo

Nicholas Carlson — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:20:34 EST

Another Demo is coming up this January 28-30. Smart startup founders will save their best pitches not for the bored audience — trust us, they'll all be ignoring you and sending BlackBerry emails. Instead, buttonhole the guys with money to spend, starting with reps from Google, Microsoft and Cisco. Here's who they're sending.

Name: Mark Arnold
Company: Cisco Systems
What he's shopping for:: Last year, Cisco Systems said it wants to acquire additional "Web. 2.0" technologies to help push the "consumerization of the enterprise."

Name: Karen Davis
Company: Google
What she's shopping for:: Everything and anything. Fortune notes Google has acquired nearly three dozen companies in the last three years. Why would it stop now?

Name: Don Dodge
Company: Microsoft
What he's shopping for: CEO Steve Ballmer recently said Microsoft plans to acquire 20 companies a year for the next 5 years. That should keep Dodge busy.

(Photo of money by amagill)

Letting loose at TechCrunch40

Megan McCarthy — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:16:57 EDT

Microsoft executive Don Dodge captures a moment from the TechCrunch40 conference. Or, more specifically, after the conference, in the limo ferrying VIPs from the TechCrunch40 VIP dinner to the after party at Fluid. Pictured, from left, Mayfield Fund VC Raj Kapoor on the floor of the limo; Allen Morgan, also from Mayfield, throwing gang signs; DanceJam cofounder MC Hammer; and angel investor Ron Conway, looking bewildered.