After over twelve and a half years at Microsoft, I’ve decided to leave the company and start a new chapter in my personal and professional life. I’m moving back to the Midwestern part of the US, nearer to our extended family, and taking a new job in product management for social media with a great company there. Since my blog is all about Microsoft, I don’t think it’s right to get into too many details of my new life here, but as I ramp up a new blog in my new role I’ll come back and provide a link to it here.
As the title of this post suggests, this decision wasn’t an easy one. Here is how I put it in my farewell mail to my colleagues here at Microsoft:
This is definitely a bittersweet decision for me. To borrow a phrase from SteveB, “I love this company!” I love our products and services. I love the people at Microsoft. I love our passion and drive. I love our partners. And I love our customers. I honestly mean that and am not using the word love lightly. Working as the community manager for Windows for the past year has given me new insight into just how wonderful our customers are and how much they are really cheering for us to succeed.
I have all of you, the members of the Windows community, to thank for that last sentence. You have helped me and many others at the company gain a new appreciation for just how passionate, supportive, and resourceful Windows customers can be. At times, you’ve also been appropriately critical of us, providing the unvarnished feedback we both deserve and value. I can’t tell you enough how much it’s meant to me to get to know all of you, learn from you, and share both the good and bad times with you.
It’s the sunset of one part of my life and the sunrise of another. Thank you again for being part of the last part of my career at one of the best companies in the world. Soon, I’ll no longer be “Marcus at Microsoft” but rather just “Marcus” — still proud to be part of the broad community of Windows enthusiasts and cheering on the company I love.
Best regards,
Marcus, Windows Community Manager
P.S. My last official day at Microsoft will be November 16. Look for announcements in the Clubhouse and on the Clubhouse Space for how things will transition to a new community manager. If you or someone you know is interested in this role, please check out Marty’s blog post here.
Marcus @ Microsoft 
October 29, 2009 at 9:20 am |
Marcus, You will be missed! I am so sorry to lose you. I wish you much happiness in your future endeavors. Thank you for all of your help and work in the Clubhouse. You have made the Clubhouse my most favorite place of all of Windows Live. X
October 29, 2009 at 9:23 am |
Good luck! You will be missed here as well.
October 29, 2009 at 9:25 am |
Good luck Marcus. Microsoft is losing a good team member for sure.
October 29, 2009 at 9:26 am |
Good luck in your new endeavors, Marcus. It\’s sad for Microsoft to lose such a devoted and talented individual. You\’ve done a lot to advance this platform, and you\’ve been a real advocate for the users on here. As you\’re clearing out the office, if you have any of that sweet Microsoft swag laying around, you know where to send it. :)Seriously, I hope you keep in touch and let us know where you land. Thanks, bro!
October 29, 2009 at 9:31 am |
Good luck in your new position and enjoy time with your family. You have certainly been devoted and although I rarely submit a comment, I do enjoy reading your posts. Good Luck!
October 29, 2009 at 9:46 am |
Good luck Marcus, Thanks for all your help you provided me with listening to the podcasts and the emails I sent. I will be following your new blog as well. Keep in touch.
October 29, 2009 at 10:13 am |
Marcus, you will be missed not only by we users and partners but the company as well. Your organization and communications skills will be difficult to duplicate. Our very best wishes to you in your new endeavors.
October 29, 2009 at 10:26 am |
Marcus, I just can\’t believe it! How on earth can we Windows Live users cope without you? I have come to regard you as more than our community manager over the years that you and I have been in touch with one another, I have come to regard you as a friend. You have over the years, taken on a far greater role than just the community manager, you have been our spokesperson, our advocate and our champion. We always felt that you had time for us, for any problems we were encountering on here, and that you would readily take on the role of \’go between\’ passing our concerns onto the relevant teams. You have never lost your cool during all that time, or sounded as if you were uninterested in our concerns. I am truly saddened to hear this, but I do hope that you plan to keep in touch Marcus, and wish you all the best in your new endevours. You will be sadly missed on here by everyone. TG
October 29, 2009 at 10:30 am |
Cripes, I need to backup my podcast! Thanks for the reminder, Richard.
October 29, 2009 at 10:50 am |
Hi Marcus, I\’m sorry to hear about you leaving the company. I don\’t know you for a long time, but I had my best hopes to have a great time working with you as BT in beta\’s to come, and it\’s sad to hear it doesn\’t get to that day.However, i\’m glad for you that Microsoft has been a great part of your career, and wish you all the luck and fun with your next job!
October 29, 2009 at 11:28 am |
wishing you the best and success with your new adventure. met you at the top of the year at the SMC Seattle event hosted on campus. will continue to follow your triumphs online.
October 29, 2009 at 11:33 am |
Hello Everyone,Hearing the news of your leaving Microsoft Marcus came as quite a surprise to me today. But it fit right in with my blog theme for this year of Writing just to Write. We have some time before you leave so I hope that we can say, “Good Bye!” in some special way. My post today is titled Don’t say anything at All and your leaving seemed to fit right in:http://myuniquelifespace.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!3D28BACBD4BDF253!7933.entryGood Luck my friend and to Everyone Enjoy Life!
October 29, 2009 at 12:13 pm |
Marcus — To me you are the voice and face of the Windows Social Media efforts. I know there are others on the team, but you were the one I consistently saw and heard taking an active role in the community. I commend you for this and I think the community would agree that your efforts helped the community grow, learn, and grow some more.Even though our paths never crossed while I worked at Microsoft I was happy to get to know you as part of the Social Media Club and I really enjoyed working with you. I wish you best of luck in your travels and your new endeavor. If you ever need anything you know where to find me.
October 29, 2009 at 12:21 pm |
You say that word love a lot here, Marcus. I\’m gonna tell you something now. I love Microsoft, too. No kidding. I\’ve always felt safe here, security has always worked. The people here are fantastic and I now couldn\’t be without them. I adore Live Spaces, and, hey, what the heck? I love you too, for all the times you\’ve been so incredibly helpful.Too right it\’s bittersweet; what you\’re doing. But hey, make those changes! You obviously need to. Actually, I\’m making many major changes in my own life, at the moment, so I share a small shadow of what you\’re feeling. You know I have some precious friends at my radio station. You muct have sneaked a read at some of the blogs about hospital radio at some point! The folks there all still just as precious, and I love them like family. Whatever you\’re doing in the future, you just be good at it, okay! Let it satisfy whatever needs you have, whether they be creative, or whatever else. Be happy, is all that matters. God Bless and keep you and yours. You\’ll be all right, and definitely never forgotten. Take care, Marcus:-)
October 29, 2009 at 12:42 pm |
I really enjoyed your tweets, blog posts etc. I wish you the best of luck in your future plans. Don\’t be a stranger 🙂
October 29, 2009 at 1:44 pm |
To me you are the voice and "face" of Microsoft, and you will be missed. You did an excellent job of showing how a large company can interact succesfully with millions of customers. I was amazed at how well you integrated social media into the entire Windows 7 campaign!I wish you the best of luck in your new adventure; and I hope that you will at least stay in touch with us online. I\’m here in Missouri, so if your midwestern travels ever take you through the middle of Missouri near the Jefferson City/Columbia area please feel free to drop a line. Would love to grab some lunch and talk about social media and what you achieved with it!
October 29, 2009 at 1:44 pm |
Hi Marcus and to all Windows Live Community,I\’m surprised of your so important decision… After 12 and half years of faithful work with Microsoft, I\’m almost shocked to hear that you will leave the company to start up a new chapter… I HOPE that you leave Microsoft for an again better job… And I hope especially that this is your choice without pressure…I hope that this isn\’t a politics of business; I hope that Microsoft didn\’t choose the same option that a lot of pathetic French businesses, who to increase the profit of their stupid shareholders, pester and push to the resignation the employees… An example of the most pathetic ones: politics of business used with "France Telecom" (no comment otherwise to see the French news)…Then, for me, Microsoft represents a so clean, so big company that it\’s for me difficult to understand how Microsoft leaves to leave the faithful employees to Microsoft? … exemplary employees… HOW?.?.?…If which I write disturbs Microsoft, because Microsoft would have chooses this despicable solution, then, Microsoft can close my Windows Live spaces without any problem… Personally, I\’m for the boycotts businesses that don\’t respect their employees to their just value…I have some laughs to hear big companies to adopt despicable behaviors… I HOPE that Microsoft not in left fact and that this is a deliberate choice of your part, because you found a well better job for a well better life…Marcus, in a world in economical crisis, I wish you to all my heart a brilliant career in your new job… As one says, the HAPPINESS is in itself, then it doesn\’t matter the changes, when in our heart, we can construct a World… a Better World…You offered to all us the possibility to create easily our Windows Live spaces, to bring counsels and improve… Thank you a lot MARCUS of all us for all what you brought to our Windows Live community!!!… GOOD LUCK MARCUS to your new chapter!!!… and see you on your new blog!!!…
October 29, 2009 at 1:50 pm |
Good Luck Marcus. It was a pleasure following your blogs and tweets..
October 29, 2009 at 3:40 pm |
Good Luck in your new venture Marcus. I too have been a MS user for many many years. I bet Microsoft knows what a good person they are loosing. Please let us know of links we can reach you at.
October 29, 2009 at 7:11 pm |
Surely you\’ll be missed Marcus. But anyway, I believe in the power of changes in our lives, n I hope you to best use of this power in your future career and become the best you can, just like the time when you were in Microsoft. All the bests man:)
October 29, 2009 at 7:55 pm |
Good luck with move home and new venture.
October 29, 2009 at 10:25 pm |
You\’ll be missed. Good luck to you and your family and best wishes!
October 30, 2009 at 7:08 am |
Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments! Your words of encouragement and congratulations mean a lot to me. Just reading them gets me a little choked up, the same way I felt when authoring this blog post. But the good news is that we can all still stay connected thanks to all this social networking stuff I love so much. I\’ll still be here on Windows Live, plus Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and maybe even a few more places. Thanks again, everyone, and I look forward to staying in touch with you!
October 30, 2009 at 7:14 am |
All the best in your future endevours. RegardsLebo Bucibo
October 30, 2009 at 7:43 am |
You just make sure we can all still hassle ya somehow, Marcus;-) Take care, Mate.
October 30, 2009 at 8:28 pm |
I always enjoyed your posts! Best of luck with your new venture. Hoping you will get a new blog on Windows Live Spaces!
November 1, 2009 at 4:49 pm |
Bye Marcus,Good luck on your new job!
November 5, 2009 at 11:31 am |
Marcus, I would first like to say thank you! Thank you for giving me the opportunity be part of a community that has allowed me express my thoughts and share feedback with Microsoft. Your leadership has really helped us to do amazing things and reach new people through our words and experiences. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and I hope to meet you person someday and just like you, I love Microsoft too! 🙂
November 6, 2009 at 9:26 pm |
Hi Marcus, It was sad for all of us leaving as a WL community manager We all hope you still will be part of Windows Live Community and continue to have interaction as a WL User. I used to hear and love to all of your Podcasts with WL Community member including with me. It was for me for the first time I had featured in any podcasts and I have all of them downloaded. Thanks !! Also thanks for all the support you provided , whenever required. Whenever any query was there, I used to mail and indeed got the prompt reply. I think it was your idea starting the Clubhouse Choice Award, Thanks for the Clubhouse Choice Award and all other goodies I received. I\’m sure we all will be in touch via twitter /mail etc. Also looking forward to your new Spaces/blog. Thanks Again !! All the Best !!
November 16, 2009 at 4:24 am |
This blog makes me feel sad Marcus, Your helpful blogs shall be missed and of course you as well.Have fun in your new life.Hugs Jewelie
December 10, 2009 at 1:09 pm |
Best of success with your new chapter in life! You were a great asset to the Microsoft team.
January 9, 2010 at 7:23 pm |
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February 28, 2010 at 11:01 am |
Marcus, how are you my friend I wish you all the best with your new job I am sure you will do a great job I don\’t think you could do it any other way:) Your friend Docextreme
March 22, 2010 at 1:32 am |
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March 25, 2010 at 12:48 am |
Have a lovely Easter you and the family