I'm moving to San Francisco.
That probably bears some explanation. As I'm sure all of you know, I work for Six Apart, which is based in the Bay Area, and they've been asking me for some time to make the jump to the west coast. But I love New York City, as I may have mentioned before, so this was something that I'd been reluctant to do, and I thought it might be worthwhile to explain how and why my position changed.
I should mention, since I'm sure people will ask, that I do expect to return to New York City, both because it's my home and because I have an obligation to the city I love. More on that in a few days. Today, I want to talk about what's motivated the move.
The past week has been really busy. We announced a new product, clarified the announcement, solicited feedback and did all of those things while dealing with an overwhelming response from thousands of users around the world.
But for me personally, this week was pretty rough. The new licenses and prices for Movable Type have been one of my main projects for the past few weeks and months, though of course we all had a hand in reviewing them. And the botched communications about them is something I feel a lot of personal responsibility for. Making mistakes on an extremely public scale is never fun, and doing it in a community that we've helped give a voice to is even worse. As Clay pointed out, people have an emotional attachment to these tools. To use the requisite automotive analogy, if Six Apart were a shiny new car, I feel like I was the person who put the first dent in it, and then a couple thousand people stood around pointing and saying "It's totalled!"
Inside Six Apart, though, I discovered a lot of very positive things. I found that not only do I have my dream job, I have a place where I can make, well, a pretty big mistake and the response is "This is something we can fix." or "What did you learn?". More importantly, I still work at a place that makes a difference. Though they might be saying "You messed up!", the reality is that thousands of people used tools we gave them and the TrackBack protocol that was invented by our co-founders to say how they felt. And we responded, much faster than I've ever seen any software company respond. I'm sure we'll be responding more.
We also got a lot of stuff right. People have wanted to sell services and products like customization or installation or plugins around Movable Type for a long time, and now they can. Web hosts have wanted to be able to license Movable Type for their users, and now they can. Businesses and end users wanted a simple ticket system where they could submit help requests and get an answer, and now they can. Now the list of people and companies that can benefit from Movable Type doesn't end with Six Apart.
But for me, what matters more is the parts internal to the company. The team members here are the best in the world at what they do, starting right from Ben and Mena themselves. I'm not the sort of person who's prone to breaking down at his desk, but when I finally lost it at some point well past midnight on Friday night, it was Mena herself who was still there, still checking in to make sure we were all okay.
And the development and support teams who saw all their hard work and preparation for this version get overshadowed by the response to the licenses didn't begrudge the business team for one minute. Our international offices chipped in, more than carrying their weight while we scrambled to recover. And our development community and a lot of long-time users were as supportive as they've been since the first day Movable Type launched, representing us better than we were even able to do ourselves, and explaining ideas or even, yes, buying licenses. It's easy to find friends when you're popular, but I found a company and community that stuck with me when things were confusing and screwed up.
So, I'm moving to San Francisco to be even more involved in Six Apart. We're doing all this work with developers and partners because there's still another 99.9% of people in the world who haven't heard what weblogs can do for them. I want to be part of spreading that message, and we're going to need help to do it. I'm also moving because I still honestly believe Six Apart makes the best weblog tools in the world, and we're going to be the the company that brings weblogs to a broad audience. Best of all, I'm glad to have made the decision before all the events of the last week, since nothing confirms a hunch like having it thoroughly tested by circumstance.
I think weblogs have already changed the world a little bit, and that's happened while we're only just getting started. So, thanks to everybody who's supported Six Apart and me, and thanks to everyone in Six Apart for being my motivation to make a public (re)commitment to the company. See you guys at the office.
(And any of you who want to join us in either California, Tokyo, or Paris, get in touch. It's a great place to work.)
Rock. Well said and I think a lot of people will appreciate the words. And good luck on the west coast: get ready for lots of hugging.
Bravo on your decision, and welcome out West! You’ll get used to the Californian Circumlocution. I still miss New York, land of No Foreplay. There, at least, they give it to you straight.
Another benefit, besides hugs and sunshine: no more Wingate.
All the best, Anil! I was in your position 4 years ago when I moved from New York to the West Coast for a job that I can only describe as my dream job as well. I still miss New York a lot and, like you, vow to return one day, but haven’t regretted the move at all.
Being in the same office permanently as all (most?) of your co-workers was also a huge productivity boost for everyone involved.
Wow, big changes. Remember, you can take Anil out of the City, but you can’t take the City out of Anil. (It’s a New Funk Thing.)
It looks like PR BS to me.
Anil, wherever you live is lucky to have you there.
When I first moved to New York, I figured, if Anil can love the city so much, maybe I can learn to love it, too. You’ve introduced me to so many great people out here, and I can’t thank you enough. No matter what, I’ll always consider you a great friend. Nintendo Sunday won’t ever be the same.
Good luck and godspeed, my favorite road warrior.
Very touching post. Congrats.
Best of luck in the job move, and bravo for capturing the ‘real’ side of being part of a software company. I work in technical publications, so everyone knows when we get something wrong - on that level I can commiserate - but it’s pretty low-level stuff compared to the very public vitriol that has been spewing forth. Clay’s point is a very good one, and one that more companies should take heed of, sounds like Six Apart do and sounds like it is a very interesting place to work.
It ain’t as far as NYC -> Tokyo ;)
Good luck on the move!
Good luck on your move, Anil. Be careful, though. Too much time in SF and you might not want to move back. ;)
I gladly welcome you to the glorious City by the Bay :) Maybe you can help spark the blogger community here — I’ve only been to one blogger get-together in SF and I don’t think there has been one since.
Also, mail me if you want some tips on restaurants in the area ;)
Good luck Anil, your story has impressed me a lot. In case if you ever start up a office in Australia, I will be delighted to join you up.
Tejas
“Another benefit, besides hugs and sunshine: no more Wingate.”
Who’s talking about my home ? :-D
And this is not “Wingate” but “Beautiful Wingate” :-P
JY.
When the announcement came, I too threw my arms in the air, wailing and moaning and chewing the desk. Oh the angst. Oh the treachery. Oh the toothache. Then I put my arms down and shut up awhile. In the cold light of this Thursday morning, and thanks to the improved communication on the changes, I am calm and comfortable with what is happening.
Your post was nicely written Anil and showed the human side of the events and of Six Apart. Fundamentally the product is strong. That people care enough to get grumpy is victory in itself.
Good luck with the move. And can we have threaded comments please. :)
New York will miss you, and SF will be thrilled to have you. Best of luck to you, Anil.
Good luck on the move Anil. Wishing you all the best.
Grace means forgiving you when you fuck up. You need to give yourself that forgiveness, just as others do. But even if others do and you do not, you’ll continue to have frustration.
Grace to you. Good luck moving! [I hate to move.]
Wrong city, right decision. Good luck in San Francisco. East 14th Street won’t be the same without you.
Best of lucks in SF… and don’t worry too much about our whining… you’ll probably nail it with “License 1.1”.
Give our regards to Ben, Mena, Ezra and the rest of the guys. We still love them despite your mistakes ;-)
Nobody ever leaves The City. Ve vill be vatching you, ve haf agents everywhere. Zat man at ze corner table mit-out ze fake smile? One of ours.
Best wishes Anil.
Wow — very brave. I’m considering the same move myself, but am such a New Yorker that I’m afraid I might spontaneously combust out in SF. But — I could use the change of pace. Best of luck.
Never thought I’d see the day! Welcome to the Left Coast. Now, WHO WANTS A HUG!?
Anil: Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You touched me. Moving has been a regular part of my life except a long stop at Camp HIll, PA. At age 6, I moved out the house in Palas to Junagarh. Moved to Parlakimedi at 15, to Burla at 17, to Kharagpur at 21, to Purdue at 23, to Seattle at 27, to Columbus at 29 and to Harrisburg at 31. After a long gap, I still moved to Sacramento at 61- a long journey. You said it-it is the journey that matters. I never doubted your future. Good luck to you. We love you. Dad and Mom
NY’s loss is SF’s gain. Take Scott’s advice to heart. I moved from NY to SF in 1986 expecting a short stay and a rapid return to the greatest city on earth. Sixteen years later I’ve only moved back east as far as Oakland.
On the other hand, I’m working on being bicoastal. Maybe you can help me figure that out.
The good news is that you’re moving to another exorbitantly expensive place with lots of good energy. The bad news is that you can’t walk out your door any time of day or night and count on finding things open nearby.
But you know all this. It’s not like you’re a stranger to the Barea, eh?
Hang in there with the maelstrom! Making mistakes in public is what it’s all about, and learning from them is the only redemption available.
Anil’s got you all fooled.
He’s really moving to SF to avoid the NYC weather, visit Napa Valley, be closer to Disneyland, and to live under the governance of Schwarzenegger.
I hope I get a chance to thank you in person someday for your hard work and your committment to MT.
NYC’s loss is SFO’s gain. I hope you love San Francisco, and write about it with as much verve and passion as you write about New York.
So is there a goodbye party? I’d love to buy you a drink before you go.
I suppose I had better learn to pronounce your name correctly now. Darn it.
yay, since i’ll be heading to stanford come september, i’m probably the only new yorker who thinks this rocks!
Anil,
This year at SXSWi, I was impressed with your friendly, but firm leadership style, be it in a panel discussion or getting kickball going and a large group of folk herded to lunch afterwards. Thank you for your honesty and humor in this post, as it solidifies your leadership skills in my book. And even the first dent can be dinged out…
SoCal waves happily to future NoCal! smiles, jen ;o)
Congrats on the move! If I weren’t so rooted in Chicago, I’d inquire about joining you; seems like 6A could use a PR man ongoing.
I am very sad about the reaction to your badly communicated rollout. It must be painful to have happen, because it has been painful to observe. It has even made me consider giving up blogging. Many of us know that you folks will make this whole thing right. Just make sure you get better, not bitter.
Hang in there and welcome to Northern California!
but NY is the media capital of the world! And you work for a media company, or is it a tech company…?
Mr. Dash,
(Senior.) Crap, I see the whole problem with Anil. You didn’t stay long enough in CowTown, or you are referring to one-a the (what-we-here-tend-ta-feel) “lesser” of all the cities in U.S. named Columbus.
I was gonna respond, seriously, but may later. This being my understated-“British” way of saying, SURE we ALL know that NY and SF suck THE BIG ONE, but not as bad as you might think-feel, at first…
J. Toran, occasional “hugger” The REAL Columbus in the “REAL” Ohio! (aka.. etc. etc…;-)
(snort)
You know what you have to do when you get to California, right?
Right?!
No, before you post to your weblog.
No, no, before you wash Mena’s car.
Yes, that’s right. REGISTER TO VOTE.
It will be tough to think of you not in NYC as I think that you wear NYC well, or is it the other way around?
This was a great post that really speaks to finding the right place and its wonderful impact on one’s life. I have been missing this passion in a workplace for quite some time. It is great to hear you have found this place with a spark as well as a heart.
All the best in your trek.
All the best to you Anil. I’m facinated to watch Six Apart grow into it’s shoes and begin to feel its way forward. It’s like watching a modern day Japanese TV drama unfold in realtime. Your post is forthright, sincere, and heartfelt; I’m certain that you are bound for great things, where ever you may be.
Now you’ll have to change the description of your main page to read “This is where most people wind up when they Google “anal” and “San Francisco”.
Good luck man, hope to see before you make your move.
If this means less posts about nyc I’m all for it.
Good luck with the move and thank you for opening up for yet another part of the human face of 6A.
Anil.
I’ve read your site for some time, and am somewhat disturbed that your move to San Francisco is actually a news item on a number of other sites. What’s next, are we going to read about bloggers’ bowel movements on Yahoo news?
You’ll always be a New Yorker to me!
Great post. I heart you guys.
I’m fascinated that people would come to my site and complain (1) that I write about New York and (2) that other people link to my writing. I’d be glad to extend you both a full refund for the amount you’ve paid for the last 5 years of blog entries.
Anil, don’t listen to those two people.
For every ONE of them, there are many others like us, who stand by you and wish you the best of luck. =)
And especially don’t feel bad about writing about New York City… It’s the best place on earth. =D
You will be welcomed here on the West Coast with open arms. :)
p.s. Nicole Lee, you forget the 3-person blogger thingy that was the opening of the Apple Store… ;D
Wow. That was supposed to be a humorous comment alluding to how the invasion of technology has allowed you to completely forego a private life behind places of employment and website publications, but apparantly it was quite misinterpreted.
Sorry, Bill. I’ve been a bit defensive of late. Didn’t mean to flame you based on a misinterpretation.
Ahh, my trackback didn’t work (first time I’d tried it in months) because I’m massaging all the data too much! Link: http://www.danielsjourney.com/blog/index.php?file=2004_05.xml&id=526
Anil, great post, redeemed the entire situation there, as far as I’m concerned. Best of luck with everything!
PS Did you grow up in Camp Hill??? I went to highschool at CD, ‘93, then split for Arizona and never went back.
You know the song “everyone knows an ant can’t move a rubber tree plant (High Hopes}. You guys and gals at 6 Apart are moving the plant. Keep at it, hold your head up and get on with the job. We all scrape our knees a bit between learning to walk and running a marathon. Its the people who stick at itt that come out on top. Enjoy yourself in San Francisco and say hi to Trevor Hailey and Kath McLeod.
Good luck. Sorry to hear you’ll be leaving.
btw. in the grand scheme of things, the 3.0 thing is a storm in a teacup. you guys still have plenty of god karma left in reserve, and anyone who disagrees is a fool.
congrats! just think of it as moving to the west side…
hope to meet you out here.
Congrats with Six Apart - good luck with the work. I was not very happy with the MovableType 3.0 licensing changes but it sure does make a difference people from the company speak so frankly about issues - and yes, we are all using the tools Six Apart created to communicate.
Count me as one-a the “fools” then, Hugh.
Facts are otherwise:
i) In case my point was misinterpreted, because I sure DO have a “weird-Al’s” kind-a humor at sometimes inappropriate times: I was talking with a High School waitress at Bob Evans, couple days ago, and she’d just got back from NYC. Said it was AWESOME.
ii) Mr. Dash (the Younger) “I’d be glad to extend you both a full refund for the amount you’ve paid for the last 5 years of blog entries.” And this is EXACTLY how the consumer (yeah, NOT PC) has gotten disintermediated from the software development process. This is what’s BEEN happening for a decade, and the 3.0 “semi-debacle” was just one-a the MINOR symptoms. (So I dunno that it won’t just blow over, but dunno.)
iii) I’m sorry, and icbw of course, but this whole “putting a human face” on a biz? It’s a sword that cuts both ways.
iv) While I’m on the subject, I’m not here to destroy anybody’s dreams or hopes. But stupid dreams and false hopes.. well, James Taylor said it best, (approx) “Sweet dreams and flying machines.. lay in pieces on the ground”. Iow, taking the “Dave-Pollard-Save-the-World” approach HAS (and therefore will) get in the way, almost each and every time. For example, putting a human face on a biz ain’t gonna help much, if you screw up so bad you land in court. Because a courtroom isn’t like the Kingdom of Blogaria, where you get to decide and vote on who’s face is “prettiest”. And counting on karma or Karma to pull you through?? Count on your ACTUAL “friends” and the biz associates you trust, as you do, and has always BEEN done and always WILL be done. (And some people will do better than others at this (despite any lies about egalitarianism of the Net), but market conditions favor or hurt companies, apart from the individuals, right? So if things work out or don’t, not always a need to take things so personal, in biz. At least that’s ime (in my experience thus far).)
fwiw
jt
Crap, that was intended to be “Trouble” to some-a y’all…;-D
Wow. I just moved back to northern NJ to be near you Anil and you’re moving out to SF! jk. Good to hear you’re following your passion (the work part) and i’m sure you’ll find life amazing in San Francisco. I’ve enjoyed your links and site greatly, and look forward to a continuation of all this with new posts on HOW MUCH YOU LOVE SF, and how you don’t regret moving there :> Good luck, and word up to sixapart.
I may be stalking you again, b/c i’ll be entering my first year of medical residency in june 2005 and may end up in the bay area :>
Having just made this move myself, rest assured, you will love San Francisco (in spite of the weird weather.)
Best of luck!
From a NoCal expat in SoCal, just one thought: SF ain’t NY. It’s something entirely different. Enjoy!
Putting a human face over the 6A will not save it. The pricing scheme put forward was one of the most outrageous pricing schemes I have ever seen in my life. Not only it does ask a huge price for the most basic package, but also it limits you in a number of ways which are fundemental to the use of the software you think you bought. The next step in this line of thinking is to rent the software for a period of time, but probably that’s too controversial now.
Arrogance and overestimating people’s trust are what I learnt from this mess. The main problem is that the image of 6A totally changed in my mind. It was a sexy company before, with nice people, nice user interface, nice software and services, now it is a company trying to screw me as much as possible. 50-100 people who still support 6A will not make much difference, because it will all come down to paying 100$ for a software with important restrictions on it.
I hope you guys will fix the pricing scheme sooner than later. This pricing scheme for this software will never work for people. The software has to be a lot more complex than this, it has to be far more important, like improving productivity, doing more interesting things, maybe with a client software? Right now it is just a tool to publish your blog on the net, which you can do it with free software.
Good luck
It was a sexy company before, with nice people, nice user interface, nice software and services, now it is a company trying to screw me as much as possible.
And yet we’re the exact same people we were before all of this. That’s interesting.
I’d have been here sooner to comment, but I’ve been trying to bang the dent outta that car! :-P
Eh, I’m just kidding ya know. It has been great to work at a place where we focus on lessons learned and getting it right, not on beating ourselves or each other up. There’s a great sense of “we’re all in this together” that I really appreciate, and it’s made all the more special when I realize that too few companies have that kind of environment (well, at least among the ones I’ve worked for).
I also sympathize, though, with how hard it is to leave a place you love. Having lived in Texas all my life, I often contemplate whether I’d have the courage to move across the country if it ever comes to that. Sharing the way you came to your own decision about such a big lifestyle change is inspiring, and I thank you for that.
A change of scenery is never a bad thing. If we can pry you away from work for a bit we’ll make sure SF feels like home and that you have a great time. SF could use a Dash of Anil!
You’ll love it out here. Trust me. San Francisco is way better than New York ever could be.
“It was a sexy company before, with nice people, nice user interface, nice software and services, now it is a company trying to screw me as much as possible.
And yet we’re the exact same people we were before all of this. That’s interesting”
I am talking about the perception. Obviously nobody is evil, but look at Microsoft, were you thinking that there are bunch of evil people running that company? Their policies, actions make people hate them. Nobody likes Oracle, because of their pricing scheme.
I wish you will become more successfull, I just wish you do this in a more reasonable way. Fix the pricing scheme and let people choose you not because they were using MT before, but because it really makes sense to use MT and pay for MT. This has nothing to do with emotions. If you want to grow, you probably do not want to depend on few people. Only Apple can charge outrageous prices because they have brand recognition. Linux has support because it is absolutely free. So you have to add lots of value to your software or assume that you are really popular and charge accordingly, but remember your software used to be free so people will definitely consider alternatives.
Microsoft is a good example. Everybody hate them, there is lots of FUD about them, but still people go and buy Microsoft products. People who spread the same FUD claim it is because Microsoft lock them in, but we all know that Microsoft products offer a lot of value. That’s the model Six Aparts should follow.
Good luck and Best Wishes
So I was listening to Car Talk yesterday ( I admit it) and the hosts were recommending that cars be “factory-dinged”. As consumers, we should be able to purchase a new vehicle with a dent already on it, to keep us from agonizing over the inevitable.
As a company that is based on communication, I’m sure 6A will not have any problems listening to its customer base and watching their blind spot next time as they move forward.
Everyone makes mistakes. Those who are willing to make up for it deserve the spotlight. 6A are some of those people, and I commend them because of it.
SF could use a Dash of Anil!
Ain’t that the truth! Welcome to the Bay Area. May the fish be fresh. =)
Your wouldn’t have that level of feedback if:
your software wasn’t intensely loved by and valuable to so many people.
blogging didn’t make communication happen faster, better, cheaper, and more fun.
SixApart didn’t have a deserved reputation for listening to its users.