On the Bus or Off the Bus

Microsoft's Tech-Ed event comes to L.A. in a few weeks, which means Microsoft Learning's Career Express gets rolling on May 1. Like most good ideas, this one started with a crazy brainstorm session, said Ken Rosen, Group Manager for Community and Evangelism with Microsoft Learning. At some point, Ken said a team member suggested that rather than fly everyone out, "what if we took our travel budget and got an old conversion van and painted it like the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine" and then took the show on the road and made few stops and held events, and the idea took root. Well, Ken tells me that the bus won't look quite like the Mystery Machine or Ken Kesey's Magic Bus, and maybe that's a good thing.

On a side note, Rosen indicated that the goals of the trip emphasized less the certification aspects, and said it was more about "helping folks who are already certified or thinking about becoming certified become more aware of the opportunities that are out there for them in IT once they become certified, or are already certified and want to further their knowledge. Or figure out what areas to invest in, for products that are coming down the pipe. That sort of thing." I like their approach and it's refreshing, when all around them everyone is slashing travel budgets. The Career Express, to me, seems to be a grassroot outreach effort that's akin to what Microsoft Across America did for showcasing Microsoft's newest technology, if you're familiar with the ad-wrapped trucks that rolled up at several events over the last two or so years.

They'll be blogging and posting videos of their trip, starting in Atlanta and will announce Twitter meet-ups from the road. You can catch it all at the Born to Learn blog.

(And my interview with Ken will be available in next Monday's Redmond Radio podcast.)

Posted by Michael Domingo on 04/23/2009 at 11:59 AM