Staff Profiles: DeepGreene
This is the first in a series of posts to help people get to know the Chess.com Team a bit better! Today, we catch up with Michael Greene, aka "DeepGreene," whose username is clearly meant to be ironic...
Where do you live?
I live in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia with my wife and 10-year-old son. I grew up in Nova Scotia and moved to the west coast in the late 90s. Both of Canada's coasts are awesome. I just wish they weren't so far apart.
How long have you worked for Chess.com?
I started full-time in very late 2010, after doing some small things on a volunteer basis before that. I joined the site as a member in 2008 and quickly became a raving fan. In my old job, I was working in a Product Management role at a different company (Active.com) and spending my coffee breaks in Tactics Trainer.
Short answer: About four and a half years.
What do you do at Chess.com?
It's a bit of a mixed bag, but the main themes are Product and Quality Assurance.
On a typical day, I might work on a specification for a new feature or feature improvement, review designs for a new part of the interface, argue with Erik, assess feedback from beta testers, help a developer figure out how to reproduce a tricky software bug, argue with Erik, test out the implementation of a new feature, or prioritize the jobs in our next iOS release. Stuff like that... Most of it is fun!
What do you like about working at Chess.com?
Well, first off, it's very cool to work in my play zone. If you can make a living working on something that aligns with your hobbies and personal interests, I definitely recommend it. It keeps my engagement in the enterprise really high and also quite personal. There's very little abstraction between our Product team and our members, and I think that's great. I know it's that way for many people on the team who love the game.
And then there's the team itself!... We may be spread all over the globe but their cohesion is amazing and their achievements are often magical: I have not worked with a more talented or committed group of individuals anytime anywhere ever.
I also like working from home, which allows me to spend more time with my son and miss far fewer UPS deliveries.
What are your other interests and hobbies?
I'd probably be better at chess if I had more focus, but the fact is that I love games of all sorts. I've got a fairly ridiculous collection of boardgames, and I also enjoy role-playing games.
I'm an avid runner, generally covering 20-30 miles per week. I run the Vancouver Marathon every May and two or three half-marathons throughout the year as well. This is as close as I come to any interest in "sports" whatsoever. (However, if there are Americans around, I will feign an interest in hockey. As is my duty.)
If running brags and pics of boardgames in progress is the kind of thing you're into, you can connect with me on Twitter at @deepgreene
Pizza or sushi?
Sushi.
1. e4 or 1. d4?
d4.
Thanks! Check back next week for another Staff profile! Track this blog to keep up with all the site news!
