So what is an Enthusiast Evangelist?
Brian Johnson just landed a cool job as an "Enthusiast Evangelist" (EE) on Microsoft's DPE (Developer and Platform Evangelism) team. I worked with Brian in my MSDN / TechNet days where he then moved to the Mac Business Unit. He recently moved his family over to Florida - but instead of Microsoft letting go of his talents, they offered him this "EE" position.
So what is an Enthusiast Evangelist? Stephanie Quilao, another "EE", decribed the role when he announced his new position at Microsoft:
"The Enthusiast Evangelist role is a newly created position at Microsoft, and there are going to be more folks like me in other regions around the U.S. Our jobs are basically to go out and mingle, bond, and touch influential end users and show them all the cool things that Microsoft has to offer.
...Now, traditionally, Evangelists at Microsoft and most tech companies focus primarily on techie audiences like developers, IT Managers, and uber geeks. The Enthusiast Evangelist is a new role that is designed more to (excuse my boss speak) bridge the gap between consumer and tech company. It is no secret that there is a big divide between how tech companies promote and what consumers understand. Most people just scratch their heads. Microsoft wanted to hire me because my primary talent is the ability to translate Geek speak into Oprah speak to show people how technology can help them live their best lives."
Sounds like the perfect role for Brian who co-authored Xbox 360 for Dummies and Zune for Dummies with Duncan Mackenzie. Congrats Brian!