Started at Doubleclick  − 20 March, 2000

I remember my interview in Manhattan. Brian got me the interview and I really didn't think I would get the job because this place looked impressive. I commuted with him by bus that morning from Broadheadsville, Pa. and I walked in and the walls were red and black, but really stylish. They had alot of metal used in the decor as well.

I thought I was out of my league. I talked with Chris Chatterton for about a half hour and he took me on a tour. I was blown away. The main floor was more impressive than Brian's floor. It had a huge loft-style lobby with free refreshments for employees and a huge sign with their logo. They had break rooms with Billiard and Ping Pong tables. Chris even showed me the full size basketball court on the roof of the building that they were currently building. It was a true e-company paradise.

After the interview I walked around the city a little and I got a phone call on my cell and I was extended an offer. I took it and I couldn't believe it, it was the most money I had ever thought I'd make. I then met up with Brian and commuted home.

I started on the 20th and we both commuted in. The first week was really relaxed and Chris told me what I would be doing. I got my PC and began work. I met a bunch of guys there that I'm still really close with including: Nestor Camacho, Justin Noto, Jim Malkowski, and, of course, Simon Moyal. I haven't spoken to them, except for Nestor, in about a year and a half, but when we get together it's like no time has passed. I attended Justin's, Jim's, and Simon's weddings and I'm inviting them to mine.

I have so many memories of that place and I was only there for a year. There's one memory I'll never forget:

We secretly got this old Ad server and put a bunch of hard drives in it and set up a RAID level so that it would run forever and not go down. We placed the server under my desk outside the data center and ran a fiber optic cable under the floor into the datacenter so that we had fast connectivity. We then loaded it with MP3s and movies. We had about 5 terrabytes of space on that server and catalogs of music that would make iTunes blush. We gave certain people access to the server and eventually everyone who was anyone knew about "Chisel" even the CEO who asked us about it and we denied it, he kept asking and asking and we finally gave him access.

I remember one time it went down, we had about 150 people visit our department and ask if it was down. Seriously, these people were more worried about Chisel then they were our production servers. One day, Chris confronted us about this server he had heard about. We showed him, his expression of amazement and child-like guiddyness was too funny. "You fuckers!! Oh my God, I didn't see anything." We had Chisel rigged up with about 5 desktop fans and cables galore going to our desks so we had ultra fast connectivity.

Right around the time that it got huge, we had the backup specialist Chris Costa start backing up Chisel nightly. It was going good until one guy decided to start getting movies before they were released in the US. I distinctly remember watching Shrek four months before it was in theatres. At that point, our VP told us to take it down and that the company could be in serious trouble if the MPAA or RIAA found the server.

I spoke to Chris Costa within the last year and he said he still had the server on backup tapes. I would love to get a hold of that.

I hated leaving the place, but I'm glad I did, I got out right before the company completely changed direction and laid off tons of people. Brian still works there though, it's crazy. They have since moved to lower Manhattan too. It's a shame they spent so much money on that Basketball court and rock climbing wall in the breakroom.

I left for Thomson and was kind of depressed when the company didn't have all the cool stuff to go with it. I'd assume that many dot-commers felt the same way when it was over. Ultimately, I left for more money and a more stable environment. Plus, it wasn't as much fun after all the fun people left.

Many dot-coms have tons of marketing stuff and Doubleclick is no different. I remember we used to sneak around and grab stuff. I still have my Doubleclick putter and my huge coffee mug.

R.I.P. Chisel