Leaving the Mob
My time at AdMob is coming to an end. It feels like it was yesterday that it was just Omar, Russell, and I listening to people say over and over that “the established ad networks are going to crush you before you can make a difference.” Now we’ve grown to gradually take over almost the whole floor of the building we’re in (a room at a time, taking large chunks of dividing walls out in the process) and I can’t read more than two mobile stories from my feed reader without at least one of them being about mobile advertising. How’s that for a staggering success?
But now that we’ve succeeded in the initial battle, life at AdMob is changing. It’s no longer the kind of place where the fast and loose brand of programmerizing I practice should be the norm. And the challenges in front of the company are no longer related to proving that the model works and the ecosystem can support it, but rather that they can hold onto and grow their lead as the number one mobile advertising network. A great challenge to be placed in front of, but not really one that exactly matches up with my disposition and role in the world of mobility overall. So it’s time for me to step aside and let the AdMob engineering crew evolve. I wish the folks at AdMob the best of luck! It’s a fantastic service backed by a great team, and when the monetization question comes up during my next adventure AdMob is going to be the first place I turn.
So now comes the question of which way to turn to find the raggedy edge of mobile? I like somewhat unique work environments. Three parts programming, two parts white knuckled thrill ride, two parts scaling issues. Seems like there’s still a ton of stuff that could be done in consumer mobile services. As far as mobile data services have come in the last year, we’re still really at just the start. The interest is out there, but people need to provide the right services via the right channels to keep the growth going. Seems like that would be really difficult to do right, so it’s got my attention. The hunt is officially on!
November 28th, 2007 at 4:08 am
We’re always trying to hire the brightest mobile minds :-)
November 28th, 2007 at 8:21 am
Wow! Big news. All the best of luck, Mike!
November 28th, 2007 at 8:37 am
Mike,
If you’re looking for something unique in Mobile that “could” leverage AdMobs advertising back end infrastructure take a look at what we’ve done with Mobile. We invented Mod_Gzip (SourceForge) and have modified it extensively so it is now called Mod_Mobile. It does some very special things when interacting with it’s own browser plug-in especially on mobile devices. It (the client) supports has it’s own open API so you can value add it. More at http://www.5o9inc.com
Cheers,
Peter
PS. We’re a start with just the kind of environment you like.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:14 am
Wow Mike… congrats and good luck in your new endeavors…
ceo
November 28th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Thanks for everything Mike. AdMob would not be what it is today without all the contributions you have made. Go start another revolution!
November 29th, 2007 at 4:24 am
Whoever gets you on their team will be very lucky :)
As Omar says, time to go start another revolution!
November 29th, 2007 at 7:22 am
[...] hosting lunch 2.0, Mike Rowehl is looking for his next gig. He writes:It feels like it was yesterday that it was just Omar, Russell, and I listening to people [...]
November 29th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
[...] first I was in denial. Now I’m on acceptance. Fine, Miker, [...]
November 30th, 2007 at 10:08 am
Thanks dude. You were one of the key reasons I joined AdMob. The last year + has been a crazy ride. I’m sure we’ll cross paths again…keep shredding and growing the El Scrapeo fan club.
November 30th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Hey Mike,
Great job in helping make AdMob what it is today. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and hope to see you at another mobile 2.0 event in the future.
all best,
vijay + vsc public relations team
December 1st, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Was just the other day that we were talking about how this has been one of your longest stints - and now you’re of again to the next big challenge! I really admire your motivation, and constant quest to be at the cutting edge of all things mobile.
Best of luck for the future, and whatever path it may take you.
December 9th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Mike,
Good luck whatever you end up doing. You’ll be in Barcelona?
Paddy
December 10th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
Congratulations Mike! Good luck on finding that “next big thing” you’re looking for and let me know if I can help…
Cheers,
Blair
February 7th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
[...] My pal, Mike Rowehl, fellow AdMobber, blogger, MoMo’er and engineer extraordinaire has decided it’s time for him to leave AdMob. He explains some of his reasoning here. [...]