San Luis Obispo¹s Blake Irving is a chief architect in the building of virtual communities. The corporate vice president at Microsoft made world headlines last week when Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. announced a landmark deal to combine their two instant messaging (IM) networks ‹ and 275 million users ‹ in one technologically compatible system. Irving had started instant messaging for Microsoft eight years ago. ³It was a long journey to combine the networks because of the issues between two separate technologies,² Irving said. ³It¹s something like when the transcontinental railroad was built. The two IM railroads have now been joined by a golden spike.² Irving, who telecommutes part time from San Luis Obispo to Redmond, Wash., will speak tonight about his recent accomplishments and Microsoft¹s ventures in ³intrepreneurship¹¹ at an annual Softec dinner in Pismo Beach. He spoke with The Tribune last week about his outlook on the corporate culture at Microsoft, how San Luis Obispo fits into his high-tech world and what Microsoft has in store for the Internet.

It¹s how Microsoft allows ideas to perk up to executive management. If an individual in the company gets an idea he¹s passionate about and is willing to throw himself into, he can find someone within the company to champion it, get it funded, try it out, put it in front of Bill (Gates) a couple of times and help it gain momentum. It¹s similar to how a board of venture capitalists works. I¹ve been able to do this a number of times, with Netmeeting, Microsoft¹s first videoconferencing application, or Messenger, our instant messaging network.

Now I¹m one of the guys to decide what gets funded and what doesn¹t ‹ and we continue to foster that kind of environment that encourages innovation and ideas. It lets you take some swings, even if all of them aren¹t successful. And even if you fail, you¹re praised for the execution.

You work at Microsoft, but you make your home in San Luis Obispo. Do you think San Luis Obispo will be a greater hub for technology in some way than it is now? Actually, the community has a conundrum on its hands. To have technology take hold in San Luis Obispo, there has to be a promise of growth. We have a lovely charm in the city, but folks who want to protect the town from growth ‹ in such things as the recent heated debate over the Dalidio Ranch Marketplace ‹ have companies wondering if the place is big enough to sustain growth and attract great employees. If we want to grow something that¹s big, we want the community to accommodate it and embrace it. I certainly don¹t want San Luis Obispo to lose its charm. At the same time, it would be great to attract more high-tech companies if there were a more pro-growth attitude.

Since you telecommute so much, do you see that kind of worker-headquarters relationship expanding overall through technological advances? Absolutely. I telecommute three to four days a week from here and have been doing that about four years. If I can¹t do it, I don¹t think anyone can. It¹s a good way to get a lot of focus work done and take the kids to school. Microsoft is an e-mail culture; you don¹t really have to spend a bunch of face time to get things done. I¹ve completed big projects and haven¹t even seen everyone involved. Even with more traditional companies that use the phone, we¹re finding people can get a lot done telecommuting. People need to balance their lives with work; good employees often demand flexibility. Telecommuting can attract and retain really good people, and we¹re developing the tools that will continue to make it easier.

Videoconferencing hasn¹t taken off in business as much as some might have expected, or has it? It¹s starting to take off. Most of the equipment has been in ISDN, a non-Internet-based standard built a long time ago, which causes a lot of delays and jitters. If there are 10 people sitting around in a boardroom conferencing with another boardroom, it¹s hard to pick up subtle cues, like a lift of an eyebrow and hints in conversation, that people use to communicate. Now, if you use higher quality IP (Internet protocol) equipment, which gives video capability on top of Messenger, the camera can pick up very subtle hints. It¹s much more one-on-one. When you use this with multiheaded cameras and spread-sectored microphones, it¹ll go at a more rapid pace.

On a personal level, one-to-one, videoconferencing is really taking off. I did a deal with Videotech about a year ago; now we have 25 million people using video with Messenger. I¹ve got Grandma in Albuquerque talking to the kids. I talk to home that way all the time. I traveled to China recently and stayed in Shanghai¹s Jin Mao Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the world. Its top floors are occupied by the Grand Hyatt. My son Parker is a ... real tall-building buff; when he comes online, I¹m able to show him the skyline of Shanghai from the 67th floor of the tower. That kind of power is very exceptional. What¹s in the future for Microsoft? Software that interacts with services will become a more important part of our business. For instance, if you have an address book that sits on your desktop, when you go online it would be automatically updated. Another example: We provide software today for small businesses that helps them run their business. In the future, we¹ll provide services ... like accounting, payroll, inventory management, even communication with customers on your behalf. Advertising-funded software is still another example.

How about biometrics, such as using a thumbprint on a computer for access and information or to buy supplies at a grocery store? The technology for tagging individuals and product is here. You can buy relatively standard keyboards that will let you use your thumbprint to log on their PC. The obstacles are how long it takes to replace the infrastructure and people¹s desire to change. I think the concept of walking out of a store without having to go through a checkout line because the person and products are tagged may be more standard in 10 years. People are slower to change than the infrastructure. They want to see a significant improvement in the way they¹re already doing things before they change. I self-check out in Home Depot really quickly, but there are lots of people still waiting in the traditional check-out lines; folks like doing things the old way.

Think of yourself on the Internet as being a digital persona of yourself. We now have something called ³Spaces,² which allows you to represent yourself in a kind of scrapbook. We¹ve also built a universal contact store with 13 billion contacts, every address in every address book within Hotmail and every contact with MSN Messenger. You can use this contact store to connect with people you¹re loosely affiliated with, perhaps because you share some ideas or interests, like your kid¹s soccer team. We¹ve built the ability to bring these people closer to you or to push them out to a looser affinity, whatever you want. So, for instance, you are in a discussion group about growth in San Luis Obispo, you go see their blog, you exchange e-mail, you find out you have lots in common, you add them to your instant messaging list, you share photographs, et cetera, then you meet this person, now they¹re in your inner circle. With the Internet, you can do this at a scale without regard for miles or time zones. It¹s a powerful concept that allows people to replicate their community lives on the Internet and bring them closer all over the world.

You have complete control over your privacy. You have more power in a virtual world. You can be standing next to someone in virtual reality and then just take yourself off the planet.

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