The geek in question: Blaise Aguera y Arcas

Title: Partner architect of MSN, working on Virtual Earth and Photosynth

So, you're an acquisition employee. How'd that feel? I founded a company called Seadragon in 2003 and we were around for only a couple of years before we were acquired. I think we had around 14 employees when Microsoft acquired us.

What was that like then, going from a little team that you started of 12-14 people, to being absorbed by — The Borg. Going from a start-up to working at Microsoft was a huge, huge step. I think the lowest point was at New Employee Orientation. I have to admit that a few of us Seadragon employees were basically throwing spitballs in the back of the room. We were totally bad kids, to the point where the guy running orientation actually separated us.

Have there been any pleasant surprises about joining Microsoft? Yes, very much, especially on the research side of things. Microsoft Research just celebrated its 15th anniversary last year. MSR is maybe the last of the great industrial research labs. I don't think people realize how important it is to have big, serious industrial research.

So, what are you working on now? Well, summer of 2008 Photosynth moved over from a Live Labs incubation to become a part of the MSN world, and in particular Virtual Earth. Photosynth and Virtual Earth are like peanut butter and chocolate. At the same time, I was recruited to become the new architect of Virtual Earth … but then suddenly the job became Architect of MSN, because MSN swallowed up Virtual Earth. That was a bit of a shock.

Welcome to management! Exactly. Welcome to management, hide your socks.

Any principles guiding your work with MSN? I don't think Microsoft has prioritized design the way it's needed to, and one of my big crusades is to try and change that. I'm not alone there. There is a whole generation of people now who are really pushing design at Microsoft.

Does it feel sometimes like turning a big boat around? Yes, very much. It's huge, the inertias are incalculable. Especially in my new role I've really been feeling the big barge effect.

So this may be sort of an enlarged question, do you feel like in your work with Photosynth and now MSN, you're defining the future of the Internet? Yes. ... And now you're thinking, "Uh, this guy seemed reasonable…" but some of the work we're doing is world changing. That's the point. Any of us who read science fiction as kids, or still read it, know that there are certain things that are coming just around the corner … and Microsoft is really a part of that. It's one of the things that I love about that Office Labs vision video — there's nothing in that video that isn't in MSR or elsewhere in the company now. It's all happening. This is not Jetsons stuff. This is the reality of 5 to 10 years from now.

I can't wait. Anything else you'd like to add about working Microsoft? Look, in some ways it sucks. It sucks that I'm in meetings all day, that I sometimes have my entire day divided into continuous meetings. And it sucks that so much of my job is now about writing e-mail. It sucks that I can't get to the coding part until 9:30 when my kids are in bed. I got used to working in Microsoft's Pioneer Square office in Downtown Seattle, and it sucks that now I work in Redmond. I had to buy an espresso machine for my office, while in Seattle there were four excellent coffee shops within three blocks. …But what keeps me happy, and what makes me not feel like okay, my handcuffs are expired, I'm looking around now, is that I feel like we really do have the chance to do something that is going to be totally world changing. I’m also getting to work with some of the most talented, ambitious coders and researchers in the business, hands down. It’d be really hard for a startup to attract this kind of talent. So, okay it's worth it. It's all worth it for that.

Links? • Fast Company names Blaise as one of the 100 most create people of 2009 • photosynth.com • Blaise's infamous TED talk about PhotoSynth • maps.live.com