Grooveshark Team Challenge 2008
I should start by telling you I’m a big fan of working in small groups–which is what the GS Team Challenge is all about. Basically, the entire company was divided into groups of five or six and are responsible for accomplishing three tasks:
1. Come up with, design and implement a feature for Grooveshark.
2. Come up with, design and implement a marketing campaign with a limited budget.
3. Come up with, design and implement a fun, team-building activity for the company.
I think this “challenge” is an excellent idea, because it allows each person in the company to work closely with a group of people outside their department–something I think is vital to improving teamwork within the company. As a member of marketing, I don’t always get to see what goes on in the development side of GS, and the inverse is true for a developer.
After our first group meeting yesterday, I felt more productive than I have in a long time. I’ve been in a writing slump for a couple weeks and was feeling somewhat under-challenged, which leads me to believe that a little pressure, competition and responsibility has helped renew my vigor. Hopefully the rest of the company benefits from this challenge as much as I think I will, because I’d definitely like to see more of this sort of thing in the future.
Wow! I like the idea! I think that the ad bar on the right (lite) should be removed. Also, I think that the GS team should get right on downloading/paying of songs. This will help with the income!