Dream Team

I've been developing software professionally now for about 7 years and for the past three I've been a consultant.  I've met a lot of people, been on a lot of teams, and worked on some pretty cool projects.  Recently I rolled off of a client project that was probably one of the most challenging projects I've ever worked on.  My previous software development experience has been mostly with financial applications.  This is helpful when trying to put the requirements for the next project into some sort of context.  A loan is a loan and an interest rate is an interest rate.  My last client was a Biotechnology company.  I've never worked with highly scientific data and terminology before.  Trying to put the project requirements into some familiar context was pretty difficult.  The same level of difficulty though also made for a very rewarding environment.  But that's not the point of this post.  What I found most rewarding about the project was the team that came together.  I was a member of a 5 person tech lead team.  We had a collective experience that complemented each other better than any team I've ever worked on.  Each of us could challenge the others in different ways.  The dynamic of the team really forced you to think a problem through, and even then, when I felt I had a pretty solid design, they still poked holes in it.  I can confidently say that I'm most proud of some of the components I wrote there.  None of us knew each other before this project, and the Madison IT community is like small town America where everybody knows everybody, or so it seems.  How we all ended up coming together is a mystery.

Face to Face with Employer

So I'm an active member of Facebook.  I love it.  I've reconnected with several friends that I haven't seen in years  and keep in touch with friends that don't live near by.  I chat, write on my friends' walls, and have even planed reunions using Facebook.  But recently people from my employer are now getting on Facebook and sending me friend requests.  I have no problems with any of these people.  I talk to them all the time at company get togethers and business meetings.  But you won't find me out on a Friday night stomping the town with them.  I like to draw a line between my personal life and my professional one.  I feel I'm probably in the majority here.  I'm not sure if I like the idea of management from my employer wanting to be friends with me on my Facebook.  In contrast, if you are going to publish your life on the internet, then you better be willing to accept the fact that its there for everybody to read.

I digress.