Infrequently Noted

Alex Russell on browsers, standards, and the process of progress.

Joining Google

Starting next month, I'll be a Googler.

To my great surprise, I've been at SitePen two and a half years. It has been nothing short of wonderful which may explain why it doesn't feel like it has been that long. When I look back at what we've accomplished it's also surprising that we've been able to do all if it in such a short timeframe. Between the huge client projects and re-building Dojo from the ground up, it has been busy bordering on nutty.

It already makes me sad to leave behind working with the SitePen crew, many of whom I helped to hire in and who I count among my closest friends. But I won't be entirely gone. I'll still be contributing to Dojo in my new role, if less frequently. Not that it'll slow the project down any. Pete, Bill, Adam, and Tom have Dojo well in hand and have been driving things forward at a furious rate. Dojo has always been a team effort, and I'm excited about the improvements coming in 1.3. I've gotten a dis-proportionate amount of the credit over the years (and not enough of the blame), and as Dojo evolves from here it will continue to be because companies like SitePen, Uxebu, AOL, and IBM have all been able to contribute to make it happen and that leaders like Pete Higgins have stepped up to lead and teach and learn with the community. My deepest thanks go to Dylan and SitePen for having let me be a part of that process on a daily basis for the last couple of years.

So what could possibly pry me away from such a sweet, sweet gig at SitePen?

In a word, Chrome.

Three years after many of my friends joined Google, the appeal of getting to fix the "web as platform" problem from the inside has finally proven irresistible. There's much to do, and the WebKit platform seems like the best shot that we have (collectively) at forging a future that's not just open, but also markedly better. At SitePen I've had the chance to make the web a better place through Dojo. At Google I'll have a chance to do it from the browser itself.

To the friends I'm leaving, it was a privilege to work with you. To the friends I'm joining, thanks for your trust and faith.