Monster’s problem was putting sales before tech

A while back, Huffington Post published an interesting article on Monster.com, my former employer.  While I agree with most of the article, I think it’s only partly right. “It wasn’t a technology failure; it was a leadership failure.”  Actually, it was both.  The leadership failure caused the technology failure.  Sal and other Monster leadership focused […]

Read More Monster’s problem was putting sales before tech
January 18, 2016

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Important lesson for coders: Don’t use open redirects!

DART Enterprise login

Let me tell you a story… At the start of 2002, DoubleClick purchased NetGravity.  It was a company that had an enterprise ad server, so it seemed like a natural fit.  The product was renamed to “DART Enterprise” and was a product people could buy and install on their own servers.  It was really a […]

Read More Important lesson for coders: Don’t use open redirects!
December 11, 2015

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I feel like I need another shower after working on this…

Yes, it’s true. Although I did not make the decision to do this, I am the sole person responsible for coding it. Ugh. Emphasis is mine. Comic Sans is theirs. Dear Monster Associates: With 15.5M monthly Unique Visitors and more than 10% reach of the entire Internet, Monster is widely recognized as the leader in […]

Read More I feel like I need another shower after working on this…
June 6, 2003

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Reload THIS!

Matrix Reloaded

SPOILER FREE! I saw a special screening of The Matrix: Reloaded this morning. (With free food! Woo!) It was a very good movie and I enjoyed it a lot. Just make sure you sit through the credits to see the trailer for the final chapter in November. BIG POINTLESS SPOILERS: (highlight to have the film’s […]

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May 14, 2003

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Fire Marshal Mark

For fire safety, Monster has several people on each floor assigned to be “fire marshals” and ensure that people get out if there’s a fire. Mark is ours…so we’ve been giving him a hard time about it. Peter edited a parking lot photo and sent it out…and then I added the fire. You can see […]

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May 7, 2003

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A year!

Today marks the 365th day since I came back to Monster…and I’m still employed! Woo hoo! My one year anniversary is tomorrow. (No, I don’t get anything from them.) It’s been 6 years, one month, and two days since I originally started at The Monster Board. That should count for something, right? I need more […]

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April 14, 2003

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In a panic to save my job…

At about 3:43 pm, Paul (my boss’s boss…two levels below Jeff Taylor the CEO/founder), came over. He said someone had apparently hacked the home page and changed the success story this morning. The success stories are served through DoubleClick…which is what I’m responsible for. I tell him I’ll look and see if I can find […]

Read More In a panic to save my job…
April 1, 2003

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