

Is there anything developers won't do for a pizza? - estherschindler
http://advice.cio.com/pizza

======
llimllib
My girlfriend is a doctor, and I can confirm that doctors will do just about
anything for free food. Mainly this means sitting through a 2-hour spiel about
new drug X.

Although sometimes the food is better, oftentimes I'd much rather have decent
pizza than the mass-produced crap they serve.

(And she's a No Free Luncher, so we don't do these anymore, and she doesn't
eat the free food in the hospital that everyone else does. Somehow, everyone
is the one that isn't affected by the advertising.

Maybe Microsoft should start sending reps around to software shops with free
lunch? I bet it'd be an effective strategy.)

~~~
estherschindler
Microsoft already sponsors a lot of user group meetings -- with plenty of free
food. Largely pizza.

I briefly wrote for a magazine for professional conference organizers. (Think:
the people who run MacWorld or TechEd.) I was told that, despite techie's
assumption that we run the universe, the profession responsible for most
conference bookings is doctors. Seems that every drug company HAS to do a
"full disclosure" meeting for every new medicine. Most of those vendors have
more money than tech companies do.

But you note that they don't promise pizza. They may deliver bad rubber
chicken, but they can promise a full lunch.

~~~
llimllib
I actually went to one of those "full disclosure" meetings when I used to work
for a pharma. They put me up for 2 days in the Vegas Four Seasons in exchange
for a 15 minute presentation :)

Rubber chicken indeed, but I'll take free food in exchange for that room any
day of the week.

------
gruseom
In case you're wondering whether the condescension exuded by this title is for
real, check out the first paragraph:

 _Need more productivity from your software development staff? Need 'em to put
in more hours to get a project done on time? Buy 'em a pizza and hand out
t-shirts. It's an age-old and effective method to get programmers and techies
to willingly (sometimes enthusiastically) give up a weekend. But why do they
come so cheap?_

What a great summary of everything that's wrong with this moribund, soulless
industry.

