Is it cloudy out? The puntiful work of CloudShare and other observations

Having been “the new girl” at CloudShare for an entire week now, I figure it’s time to share my thoughts, observations, and more.

First, a little about me – I’ve never worked at a startup or a tech company. I come from an advising and student services background, specifically for an MBA program. I come from a land of dress codes, red tape, limited funds, and very little room for thinking outside the box, or in the cloud.

So, at this point you’re probably wondering, why am I here? My work in advising led me to pursue my MA in Media, Culture, and Communication, because I’m interested in the role media plays in shaping our perceptions on gender, race, and identity. As you all know, technology is a major contributor to media proliferation, so I found myself regularly taking courses on how technology affects society.

When CloudShare provided the opportunity for me to lead social media efforts, to experience social media from within a technology innovator, I had to be a part of it. So here I am.

And here are the stereotypes I knew of from various media that I have now found to be true:

• Techies are nerds and they are proud
• Startups are chaotic but it’s a team effort
• If you want to get anything done, you have to make it happen yourself
• Tech companies like to feed you
• This is a male dominated industry
• The fridge must always be stocked with Mountain Dew
• “Innovation from Within” is very real
• Jeans and T-Shirts are the uniform (anything fancier and people think you’ve been interviewing outside the company)
• Do what feels right and don’t apologize for it (unless you completely mess everything up and then spin your mistake as a passion-filled move)
• Everyone is in this together, and by together I mean we’re sharing computers, notepads, pens, and table space.
• You’re only new for a day or two before a new hire starts

and last, but definitely not least:

• It is so much pun to be puntiful with the CLOUD at a cloud computing company! Some examples:

Cloudy Skies Ahead, Head in the Cloud, Clouded Thinking, On Cloud 9, Clouds are Rolling In

See what I mean? What’s your favorite cloud pun?