I’m in Park City, Utah for my very first Grand Meetup at Automattic.
This is also the first time I’ve met my team mates in person.
I have to admit, it’s a bit overwhelming to walk into a room of 400 strangers, when I’ve only met roughly about 10 Automatticians before this.
It was a weird sensation, seeing so many faces that I recognized from Slack or just in general “seeing them around” online. But yet not really knowing them yet. On the other hand, getting a chance to finally meet in person the people you’ve been through so much with. It’s just awesome. Everyone is so amazing.
I feel like it’s summed up best by this tweet from:
When everyone in the room is the most interesting person in the world. #a8cgm
— Christopher Smith (@chrisfromthelc) October 14, 2015
Every Automatticians is extremely friendly, with a quick wit, and in general just really really smart and kind. Their stories are inspiring and hilarious.
Lunch and Dinner typically have assigned seating where you’re seated with people you haven’t met yet. Since I’m an introvert, the idea of sitting at a table for a good hour and a half with people I don’t know… is uncomfortable for me. It kinda feels like a blind date with 4 coworkers. haha.
In practice though… it was kinda awesome. I got to spend some time with some amazing people I wouldn’t have otherwise had met and learn their stories. It’s kinda cool, but I have yet to meet an Automattician I have nothing in common with.
In most companies there is a clear divide between developers and designers and customer support. It’s not that way at all in Automattic. Everyone is treated like one big family. There is no clear divide. Your opinion is valued and no question is ever too silly to ask. Everyone loves to teach and learn. It’s pretty amazing.
We still have a few days left, but I’m already dreading the moment when it’s all over. When we all leave and go back home. Where we go back to funny memes and gifs instead of making funny faces at each other. Working for a distributed company like Automattic has so many great things about it. We get to hire the best, no matter where in the world they’re located. But that also means that we don’t see each other often. That just makes it even more special when we’re all in one place together.
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