www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/03/02/microsoft_station/index.html -> dir.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/03/02/microsoft_station/index.html
Microsoft goes for "station domination," wallpapering a San Francisco subway station with recruiting ads. As the escalator coasts towards the train platform below, an overhead banner hung from cement rafters continues the barrage: "No, seriously. The Answer scrolls into view in the form of a giant blue rectangle on the floor below. Would-be riders can barely avoid stepping on it to get inside the trains: "MICROSOFT. Mark Spain, a human resources director at Microsoft, says the immersive recruiting environment is just business as usual: "It's an extension of our existing campaign," which runs in airports and airline magazines. He wouldn't say how many new hires Microsoft is after, only that Microsoft is trying to drive "passive" job seekers to the 44 jobs section of its Web site -- which lists primarily technical jobs. In the San Francisco metro station, the steps between levels have been branded in Microsoft's chosen colors -- green, blue, yellow; For tens of thousands of Bay Area commuters, the scene is surreal. Imagine waking one morning to discover that the Department of Justice had chucked its antitrust case, leaving one and only one company to make software, to work for, to exist. It's an incredibly unsettling feeling to be in a public space -- one which you may have no choice about passing through on your way to work -- in which every available surface is dominated by one company: Microsoft. TDI does similar all-encompassing ad blankets in 18 subway stations around the country, but the Microsoft blowout is happening only in San Francisco. Incredibly, an entire train station can be had for a mere $150,000 a month. But he's never seen a company turn the space into a 3-D classified ad: "They must need the help," he mused. Old Navy blanketed a San Francisco station to promote the opening of its flagship store in the fall; At least they'll know where," winks another, in an undisguised attempt to tarnish the start-up allure. More than anything else the "station domination" campaign may be a testament to just how hard it is to get the attention of technical talent. Most tech companies are having a hard time filling their open slots, and are turning to advertising, professional 45 recruiters and big finders fees to bring in new hires. Microsoft faces the same talent shortage -- plus it's vying for geek power with a slew of early start-ups still handing out VP titles. And on the weekends, to blaze your own trail," it promises -- as if to contrast with the start-up lore of pulling all-nighters and crashing in your cube. But seriously, does the most highly valued company on Earth expect us to believe it got where it is by taking weekends off? But it's not the message or even the sheer ubiquity and dominance of the campaign that's odd, we'd expect ubiquity and domination from Microsoft, it's the odd target of the ads. After all, how many of those train passengers are software engineers, the primary jobs listed on Microsoft's site? But of those 33,750, how many, even in San Francisco, can be expected to respond to a solicitation that says "You'll be working on products that affect end-users in Bangladesh. Microsoft's campaign suggests the technology industry has finally swallowed its own message, and the only viable way to "change the world" is to write code or product manage a Web site. Sound Off Send us a 46 Letter to the Editor Related Links 47 The consumer incarnation of Microsoftiness 48 The agents of Silicon Valley shim 49 salon | 50 search | 51 premium | 52 tabletalk | 53 the WELL | 54 about salon | 55 report error | 56 about the directory shim Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited Copyright 2003 Salon Media Group, Inc.
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