Kathy Sierra, author of the fantastic "Creating Passionate Users" blog just wrote a post about how out-of-context surprises like the bud vase in the new VW Beetle can delight users. She listed a bunch of neat examples of this, so imagine my surprise when my talk at Webstock was one of the examples! Now, it's too bad that a nice Microsoft guy at a web conference is a surprise, but I appreciate the recognition.

Context: A Microsoft guy giving a conference presentation

Delightful Out-of-Context Surprise: He's a Really Nice Guy! With kids even!

Tony Chor was a highlight for many of us at Webstock, myself included, who weren't expecting someone quite so fun, down-to-earth, approachable, and, well, cute. Then again every employee of Microsoft I've actually talked to seems to be a Really Nice Person.

(For the record, Kathy was great in her talk. She was intelligent, witty, and charming, keeping the audience rapt even though she was the last speaker of the conference.)