#it has been crucial for all my deep dives about Seattle

[caitsyoi]

I wanted to talk about FEDRA in Seattle a bit. What they did was super impressive, even if it did end really badly for them.

Under the cut because there are lots of pictures and I talk about FEDRA too. Actually, this got really out of hand but it is interesting af to me, so click below to read my thesis on FEDRA.

I think the singular most impressive thing that FEDRA did was building this wall. I estimate that the constructed about 5 miles of concrete wall (based on Dina's map and the distance in RL Seattle), and this wall is around 4 stories tall. I have no idea how they managed this during a pandemic of this size. Maybe Seattle got a heads-up from other infected areas, and maybe they set up temporary barriers first while constructing this one. Still, that is a lot of material to haul to and set up during a devastating outbreak like in the TLOU universe. It is insanely impressive.

They also set the QZ up into zones, and the zones were created using concrete walls about a story high. That's even more work they had to do, all the while fighting off infected and trying to keep everyone fed.

I can't imagine they were receiving supplies from outside for long, their supply routes probably didn't stay functioning too long past Outbreak Day. It's unknown whether they started up any farming of their own or if the WLF was the first to do that, but as you can see here, searching the buildings for food and supplies was a very important task. If that was all they had for food for 5-10 years, it is no wonder there was heavy rationing and food shortages.

Another interesting thing about this picture are the cleared zones. Based on this and Dina's map, they cleared the zone around the FOB, Capitol Hill (and another just outside the wall but still in the neighborhood of Capitol Hill), and they cleared parts of what I'm guessing was downtown (that is if the WLF use the same names for zones as FEDRA did). They hadn't cleared the stadium (implying they weren't doing any farming), or a lot of areas in the north central part of Seattle (what is referred to as the "Contested Zone" by the WLF, which you can see on Issac's map). The security situation in the QZ was a real mess.

FEDRA did make an attempt to move people out of less secure zones and into safer ones. You can see that in some of the notes you find and on the doors to some apartments. I actually looked this up to find out what it means. Basically, the "X" means "Dangerous - Do Not Enter", "0-6" is supposed to be time and date but it could number of survivors and corpses, "NE" means "No Entry" and it's where you would indicate types of hazards, and DOA is what you think it means (this is also typically where they state the condition and amount of people found). If you want to see the reference I used, look here.

In the notes you can find, it seems like the safe zones were not a pleasant place to be. They sound like the lawless refugee camps you tend to hear about in war-torn areas. It's not surprising that some people resisted going, like the Seraphites in the NW and the residents of Hillcrest in the NE.

Another unpleasant aspect of QZ life - rationing. This seems to be a thing in every QZ we see in game, although to be fair, we only see Boston and Seattle. All the citizens of the QZ were divided into 3 groups based on their role in the QZ. "A" ration cards are the best and held by soldiers, but it's unclear who got "B" and "C" cards. What is clear is that just like in Boston, this caused a lot of resentment towards the soldiers. The WLF used this resentment to recruit members, much like we saw with the Fireflies in Boston. It makes sense, since Issac used to be a Firefly.

Ration cards also worked as identification. It's what they needed to move between different zones or enter certain areas. The WLF probably got a lot of goodwill by falsifying ration cards (and it probably allowed them to move weapons and supplies around much easier).

This is how I figured out the soldiers were type "A". This was on the FEDRA trailers near the main gate, which are designated as authorized personnel only. It also says "ablebodied" here, which makes me wonder if there was forced conscription like you saw in Boston. This seems very likely to me. It also seems like there was not a high standard for those selected for conscription, other than being physically able to do it. Again, this was probably not a popular policy.

It's pretty brutal that they didn't allow anyone with any disease or condition into the QZ. This adds up for what you find out about FEDRA in other parts of the game, but it's still sad to think of the people who weren't contagious but were still denied entry. It's also sad to think of the contagious people who were denied, although that is a bit easier to understand (although still so fucked up).

You find a note near the Fuck FEDRA gate that lists the amount of people allowed in, the amount turned away, and the amount that were kicked out. Over time, the amount allowed in decreased to 0, and the amount turned away or banished greatly increased. Again you can see why they grew to become very unpopular.

Another thing you get from these signs is that there were a ton of restrictions: no photography in certain areas, you had to surrender your firearms, no freedom of movement, and you weren't not allowed to enter OR leave the QZ without permission. Again it makes sense when you are dealing with something as dangerous as the fungus, but you can still see why this was not popular with people. Life under FEDRA was pretty darn oppressive (though it isn't much better in that respect under the Seraphites or the WLF either).

They also had a curfew at night, which also makes sense. Honestly, I wouldn't mind this because who the fuck wants to go out and possibly come across infected in the dark? I wouldn't even want to see them in the light.

There are also signs all over former FEDRA property telling people to report any suspicious activity. This makes sense with dealing with infected people, there were probably a lot of scared, recently infected people who tried to sneak in. You can see though how this was probably not just used to locate potential infected, the WLF and possibly the Seraphites were also targeted.

This is another common sign you see. They really weren't afraid to use lethal force either, there are several notes mentioning how FEDRA was willing to kill without trial, just shooting those they suspect in the street. It is not hard to see why they were overthrown. Violence begat violence, and the WLF paid them back in kind.

It had to be so hard to live in the QZ and find out someone you care about is infected. If you don't report it and they found out (which I imagine they'd have to find out eventually), you could be killed as punishment. If you do report it, you are effectively killing them. I understand why FEDRA was so strict about infection, but damn is that brutal.

Last but not least, I love that they took real photos of the different kinds of infected. Some poor FEDRA soldiers were tasked with bringing back a runner, a clicker, a stalker, and a bloater. A pretty common story for soldiers everywhere, sometimes you just get the shit jobs. I also think it's funny that in Boston they just drew pictures instead.

I also love the advice they give. For runners, it's all about not letting them swarm you. For stalkers, it's all about checking your surroundings. For clickers, it's all about keeping your distance. Finally, for bloaters it's basically don't engage unless you absolutely have to. All great advice.

Another interesting fact, there is no indication that FEDRA was ever aware of the existence of Shamblers. The earliest mention is a WLF soldier who found one and left a note to report back. That means that this type of infected took at least 5-10 years to first show up.

And that's it for my FEDRA post. If you can't tell, the TLOU universe is interesting as fuck to me. Like, I would spend cash money on a book just about TLOU lore.

Once again, if you got through all this, you are my people.

[letterboxd]

Top 100 Women Directors.

Ella Kemp takes a deep-dive into our newest all-time stats addition—the top 100 films directed by women—and finds, to nobody’s surprise, that Agnès Varda is indisputably the GOAT.

There are countless ‘best of’ lists on Letterboxd to track your progress against; some are maintained by our staff, while others are contributed by passionate members. If you’ve upgraded to Pro or Patron level, there’s a section on your all-time stats page (accessible directly from your profile) where we’ve gathered twelve key lists against which you can track your progress at a glance (example below), and we’ve also added ‘Completed Collections’ for Patrons, showing all franchises of three or more films that you’ve seen in their entirety (excluding unreleased entries).

In the interests of promoting a diverse range of titles, we’ve recently added a Top 100 Women Directors list to your all-time stats, compiled by Jack Moulton and ranked by overall weighted average rating. In other words, these are the female-directed (and female-identifying-directed) films that you, the Letterboxd community, have chosen as the best.

To celebrate, we invited Letterboxd member, writer and Girls on Tops photographer Ella Kemp to cast her eye over the current list (it’s bound to change in future based on new ratings cast).

Encompassing thousands of votes to meticulously rate and root for the greatest films we have courtesy of women directors, Letterboxd’s newest all-time list offers a sobering dissection of the way we consume movies—and how much we recognize the women responsible for these works.

At first glance, a scroll through the list boasts a generous handful of posters designed in the last couple of years. Five features released in the past twelve to eighteen months have made it straight to the top 20 (Portrait of A Lady on Fire, The Farewell, Booksmart, Lady Bird and Capernaum) with one of those films—not even publicly released in cinemas yet, but making waves at festivals around the world—already sitting at number two. That’s the power of Céline Sciamma and her Portrait.

Céline Sciamma’s ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ (2019).

Diving deeper, Sciamma’s top-tier triumph exemplifies a few key patterns. She returns at number 64 with Tomboy, reminding us what a great shame it is that her excellent feature Girlhood didn’t make the list, but confirming that France appears to be one of the best countries in the world for women to make movies: the list comprises 23 French features, which, considering the US’s oft-perceived monopoly on the film industry, feels monumental.

But of course, it’s not accidental either. This year sadly marked the passing of Agnès Varda, indisputably the GOAT. She stands proud as the most prolific contributor with six features, two in the top 20. To grieve, to remember, at least we can always keep watching.

Another singular trailblazer is Scotswoman Lynne Ramsay. She has four entries, but what’s most impressive is that these are, well, all the feature films she’s made to date. Her fourth entry, Morvern Callar, sneaks in at number 100.

Elaine May and Chantal Akerman both have three entries, which may come as no surprise to cinephiles, but it’s also the same number of entries as Japanese animator Naoko Yamada (whose A Silent Voice sits in sixteenth place on our list). This reveals an open-minded slant, one that acknowledges the widely perceived touchstones but also embraces further-reaching works from lesser-known artists. Five features are Japanese, four are German, three Italian, and three Indian.

Naoko Yamada’s ‘A Silent Voice’ (2016).

The lean still remains very much with the US, and yet few films on the list break records for eye-watering budgets. The Matrix, courtesy of the Wachowskis, was made for $63 million, and Shrek, co-directed by Vicky Jenson, had a budget of $60 million. Aside from these two, projects on the list seldom had more than $10–15 million to get the job done.

When looking at the list’s omissions, one almost unanimous absence is that of the highest-grossing films of all time directed by women. No Sleepless in Seattle, no Frozen, no Fifty Shades of Grey. No Nora Ephron, No Nancy Meyers. No Ava DuVernay. It’s a peculiar gap, as the influence of these writers and filmmakers is hardly one to be contested. And, to close the circle on big budgets, $120-150-million-wielding Patty Jenkins is also absent. The highest-grossing film directed by a woman (with no male directing partner)—a cool $821.8 million at the global box office—did not make the cut.

On this topic, there are sixteen films co-directed by women on the list. A co-directing mention is a crucial credit. It’s like the trust exercises that used to be taught in school drama classes—how would they work if one party wasn’t there to catch the other as they fell? What’s the point in being brave if you don’t also have some kind of promise of safety? Partners need each other, and these directors needed partners to reach the heights they did. City of God, co-directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, was nominated for four Oscars, and yet Meirelles was still the only filmmaker credited at the ceremony. The Academy chose to disregard Lund, but our list does not. There are five female co-directors in the top 20. One of the highest-grossing films on the list, Shrek, would not be what it is without Vicky Jenson.

Also curious: Palme d’Or winner Jane Campion makes the list, best director Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow does not. Overall, the list shows a vast body of skill, a crop of familiar names, some deeply felt absences and—hopefully—a whole lot of additions to watchlists. Further names that deserve to be sought out, in no particular order, include Mabel Normand, Maya Deren, Josephine Decker, Jennie Livingston, Mia Hansen-Løve, Dee Rees, Joanna Hogg, Gurinder Chadha, Barbara Hammer, and directors with new films soon to be released: Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), Niki Caro (the live-action Mulan) and Kasi Lemmons (Harriet).

Chantal Akerman’s ‘Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles’ (1975).

Writing this breakdown gave me plenty of homework, and it shed light on a lot of works that I’m yet to catch up with. At first I thought it pretty normal to not have seen as many on the list as I would have liked, taking into account my age, access and time, but the further I went, the more names cropped up that I didn’t recognize, and the more I recalled my three years studying film at university and not having learned anything about so many of these women.

I should know more names. I should have been set more assignments regarding more of these names. I can do more, but so too can those above me, those who taught me and continue to teach others, about who makes the films that are worth learning about. We now have lists such as this one—it’s high time we start to properly use them.

Header image: Agnès Varda (with her own 1962 self-portrait) in Faces Places.

Related content

Films Directed by Women: Vanessa’s comprehensive—and growing—master list, and her shorter, highly recommended list

Female Cinematographers: The Master List

Written by Women: a master list of scripts written by women

Five filmmakers Jane Campion wants you to watch next

Our Q&A with Debra Granik

Little White Lies’ 100 Great Movies by Female Directors

Female directors recommended by Tilda Swinton

Iranian Women Make Films: a list of Iranian female directors

Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen: the story of trailblazing Māori filmmaker Merata Mita (available on Netflix, distributed by Array)

[doomedandstoned]

Mammoth Salmon’s Uncompromising Vision of Northwest Heavy

~Words by Billy Goate | Pics by Stephanie Savenkoff~

Nigh unto three years ago, I witnessed MAMMOTH SALMON perform during the Portland Metal Winter Olympics, a kind of battle of the bands organized by Nate Carson from Witch Mountain, with a panel of judges that included folks from Relapse Records. After they played, I remember one of the judges giving what I'm sure they thought was a helpful bit of feedback: "You're good. Really good. If you want to jump into the broader eye of the metal public, though, you need to change your name."

Suffice it to say, this person wasn't from Oregon or they'd understand just how integral salmon to the history, economy, and character of the state. Salmon are as iconic as the redwood is to Stanford University or the apple to Washington. Perhaps those aren't even fitting comparisons, as the upstream journey of the salmon represents the struggle to overcome odds and reach the impossible. Salmon are underdogs. With that thought in mind, it's no wonder Mammoth Salmon hasn't followed up on that well-intentioned, but ill-informed advice.

This weekend, the Portland doomers rumbling Ash Street for Day II of Doomed & Stoned High Summer Fest. Just weeks ago, Paul Dudziak (guitar, vox), Matt Howl (bass), and Chad Walters (drums) dropped a new record on us called 'Magnetic Fields of Radiant Light' (2017). Having witnessed the guys play "Mortals" last year in their opener for Mars Red Sky, I was looking forward to hearing the song properly recorded. Justin Phelps did the honors, laying tracks down at The Hallowed Halls in Portland, where a lot of fine recordings have happened over the years (including last year's SUMA record).

Loving Paul Dudziak's ongoing experimentation with guitar effects and atonal riffs in the same song, something he began delving into with 'Last Vestige of Humanity' (2015). Of course, his vocals are savage as ever (always the main attraction of Mammoth Salmon for me). Matt Howl conjures another level of downtuned hell to Magnetic Fields and Chad Walter provides a sturdy rhythmic backbone to every track, though I really would like to see him cut loose more in future records.

The release stays faithful to Mammoth Salmon's uncompromising vision of "heavy" -- though too short a ride for me. Then again, I might just be spoiled. I decided to track down Paul and the boys prior to the big show and get the scoop on the record, the band's roots, and future plans.

Magnetic Fields of Radiant Light by MAMMOTH SALMON

What's the story behind the new record?

Our initial plan for the new record was to record each song with a different producer. But after we recorded one song with Justin Phelps at The Hallowed Halls, we said, you're our guy. Make us sound like our live show. And he did. This is our second full-length record and first with the rhythm section of Matt and Chad. We recorded the last two albums with Adam Pike, front of house engineer for Red Fang, who was fantastic to work with. We wanted to record in a different studio but weren't sure who to go to. My friend Buddy, who works at 2nd Ave. Records, introduced me to Justin and after recording Apotheosis with him in an eight-hour day in November of last year, we decided that he was the guy that we were going to work with. He was booked up until February of this year so we had time to continue to develop the songs that we were planning to record.

Were these songs composed during the ‘Last Vestige of Humanity' (2015) period or an intentional effort to write songs as a new unit? The contribution from Matt, in particular, is stands out in songs like "Apotheosis," which is more bass-heavy than I'm used to with Salmon.

These songs were composed after the rhythm section of Last Vestige of Humanity left the group. The songs were all worked on together as a group. "The heavy emphasis on the bass in Apotheosis was all Paul's idea! And who am I to say no to more bass?"

If it's not entirely too tedious, I'd love a track-by-track walk through. Anything about the songs, really. Anecdotes about composing, practicing, or recording them are welcome, as is any insight into the meaning or inspiration of the songs.

Maelstrom of Discontent

Magnetic Fields of Radiant Light by MAMMOTH SALMON

The first song that was written for the album was "Maelstrom of Discontent." The political atmosphere was clearly changing and this song reflects those sentiments. People seem more disconnected than ever and it's palpable all around the world. There seems to be so much unrest and resentment these days. Matt provided the main riffs for 2 songs on the new album: "Mortals" and "Black Moon Ritual." Paul provided additional riffs and structuring for each song. Chad's steady beats and dynamic fills bring it all together.

Mortals

Magnetic Fields of Radiant Light by MAMMOTH SALMON

"Mortals" was written after Paul had major surgery, one week after his 40th birthday. It was a heavy reminder of our mortality as humans on this earth.

Black Moon Ritual

Magnetic Fields of Radiant Light by MAMMOTH SALMON

"Black Moon Ritual" was the final song composed for the album. We were going for a different feel with this one and trying different things. It was cool to experiment with multiple layers in the studio with this one. The breakdown in the middle of this song is always fun to play live.

Apotheosis

Magnetic Fields of Radiant Light by MAMMOTH SALMON

"Apotheosis" came together almost immediately and it was obvious that we had a strong album opener. A friend called it "a real barn burner," whatever that means.

Magnetic Fields of Radiant Light

Magnetic Fields of Radiant Light by MAMMOTH SALMON

"Magnetic Fields of Radiant Light" originally appeared on the first demo from 2012 that has been out of print for several years now. I composed that song when I first moved to Portland in a converted garage in a house I was renting at the time. I decided that this line-up could breathe new life into the song because it was too good to let it fade away. It is a reflection on the 10+ years that I lived in Humboldt County, California.

Deep inside the place I know The only sound is the river flow Sunlight shines through ancient trees Distracting me from my disease

Hazy fog shrouds the bay Delusions are all hidden away Darkness comes and fills the night Ominous sense of fear and fright

Looking for what's not there Living like a devil may care Blinding brightness from the glare Feeling all the empty stares

Ultraviolet waves in space Fluctuating then replaced Infrared visions of night Magnetic fields of radiant light

Paul, you seem to enjoy tinkering with guitar effects a lot. What's going on with that?

I'm always experimenting with different sounds. It's important to me to convey the right mood in every song we play. Sometimes the right combination of effects can really bring the songs together in terms of overall feel and expression. We obviously go for a darker sound and good tone is especially important to me. I have worked for years to dial in every effect that I use with the Marshall amp, Gibson guitar combination that I prefer. Everything is well thought out. I enjoy trying different effects pedals, but am careful to not let them be the entire focal point of our music -- only utilized to add color and texture to the songs.

What's the vision for Salmon moving forward, guys? What do you each hope to bring to the table and where do you think the project will go next?

The band is now five years old. I remember starting out in a garage in 2012 and not having too many expectations. I just wanted to play shows with my new friends at local dive bars. It's fantastic to say that we are still doing the same thing today. It was incredible to have Devil's Child Records release the debut LP on vinyl last summer! That was a real boost for the band which gave us some good momentum.

We played three festivals soon afterward: Northwest Heavy Fest in Seattle (opening for Mos Generator), Crucial Fest in SLC with Ape Machine, and Erosion Fest in Missoula, Montana opening for Acid King.

We are hoping to release Magnetic Fields of Radiant Light on vinyl with label support. We also hope to tour more heavily next year and eventually tour Europe. It would be incredible to play some of the stoner rock/doom metal festivals that they have.

We all bring unique elements to the band and it is a true democracy where everyone has a say in all aspects of composing, performing, and recording. We hope to keep writing dynamic songs with great riffs for many years to come.

Follow The Band.

Get Their Music.

Film by Billy Goate

[gustavowilh]

Evolving Team Apptentive: New Values, Office Space, and Team Growth

Hey there! I’m Gloria DaPra, Apptentive’s new Director of People. I’m very excited to part of this amazing team that’s engaged and fully aligned toward our company goals. We have fun, and know how to focus on delivering #CustomerLove.

This year has been full of exciting change for Apptentive. In addition to a slew of new feature improvements, we’ve been hard at work thinking about what Apptentive’s future as a company looks like. To continue driving our momentum forward, we’ve made some changes to our internal processes, and are rapidly growing our team.

Today’s post shares our new team values, explores our new-and-improved office space, and dives deep into the roles we’re looking to fill.

Living new values

Since the beginning, our company values have been focused on hard, smart, and humble work. Those values will always be important to our team, but last month, we revisited our values in order to more accurately reflect who we are and who we want to be.

I’m excited to share our new Apptentive core values with you for the first time.

Deliver customer love

We are committed to taking a customer-first approach to our processes and our product. We care about our customer relationships and do the right thing for them, including looking after their interests even when they’re not present. We listen first and embrace the emotional connection of human beings, especially in our customer relationships.

Own your results

We collect and share data about successes and failures so we can make better decisions in the future. We view ownership of our individual results as a responsibility to the overall team. We do not place blame on others or argue “that’s not my job.”

Succeed together

We ask, “How can I help?” We respect and empower one another, invest in strong communication and collaborate because we are all on the same team. We know that people love Apptentive because anyone in the company will help you. We show up for each other.

Be transparent

We are committed to every teammate knowing “what” is going on and “why” to promote accountability and so we can all make the best decisions possible. We communicate proactively, highlight areas of challenge and strive to give all teammates insights into the business and our customers. We build transparency by being open particularly in challenging situations.

Celebrate change: Fail, learn, and improve

We celebrate experiments, risk-taking, and adaptability as opportunities to learn. We focus on improvement and execution rather than valuing stasis and comfortability.

Take action

We value speed in decision-making and encourage people to act today instead of tomorrow. We prioritize smart decisions made quickly over perfect decisions made slowly. We understand that while we might not always agree with the decisions, our ability to disagree and commit effectively is crucial to all of us acting and executing.

Bring your best self

We believe in the importance of the individual as part of the team. Take care of yourself. We help each person invest in their professional development and encourage everyone to ask for help when they need it, both personally and professionally.

Our team reflected on the behaviors we see day in and day out in order to create our new values, and labeled them to identify how we work best together. These values influence the choices we make, the people we hire, and the direction of our Apptentive. They are our DNA.

Expanding our space

In June, we officially doubled our office space. We’ve spent three wonderful years in our Pioneer Square building, and we’re excited to continue our growth in the same location, only now with plenty more room for activities!

Take a peek at our upgraded home-sweet-home.

Engineering demo to the company

Sales finding our next customers

Engineers hard at work

Customer Success smiling with our clients

Growing our team

We believe relationships matter and that customers are a brand’s biggest asset. To help us achieve our mission, we’re rapidly expanding our team. If you want to be responsible for empowering millions of consumer conversations every day, consider joining us!

What sets our company apart is our sense of team. We are truly here for each other and are working together to make Apptentive an amazing place with products that give our customers a deeper perspective to help build relationships.

We’re currently looking for the following people to join team Apptentive (head over to our Careers page for more detail):

Customer Success Manager

Senior Product Designer

Senior Product Manager

Senior Software Engineer (Backend)

VP of Finance and Operations

VP of Engineering

We value close collaboration, strong communication, and honesty. We also like to have fun by enjoying the wonderful food, nature, and sites Seattle has to offer. In addition to a competitive salary, we offer:

Full health, dental, and vision insurance coverage—Apptentive pays 100% of premiums

401k, ORCA Card, $50/month fitness membership stipend

Equity packages

No formal limit on paid vacation

Paid family leave

Team Days (e.g. Seafair BBQ, Ninja Escape, Thanksgiving potluck, paintball)

Weekly team lunches and mega snacks

Paid professional development (conferences/courses)

Fun, flexible work environment with standing desks and MacBooks

Work at one of PSBJ and Seattle Business Magazine’s Best Places to Work in Washington

Want to learn more?

I hope you have a better sense of who we are as a company and where our sights are set for team growth. The future of Apptentive is bright, and we’d love to share it with you!

I’d love to answer any questions you have about Apptentive, or to tell you more about the product and team. Reach out to me directly anytime, gloria@apptentive.com, or leave your thoughts in the comments below to get in touch with a member of our team.

The post Evolving Team Apptentive: New Values, Office Space, and Team Growth appeared first on Apptentive.

from Blogger http://gustavowilh.blogspot.com/2017/08/evolving-team-apptentive-new-values.html via IFTTT

[michaelmikkelson]

Evolving Team Apptentive: New Values, Office Space, and Team Growth

Hey there! I’m Gloria DaPra, Apptentive’s new Director of People. I’m very excited to part of this amazing team that’s engaged and fully aligned toward our company goals. We have fun, and know how to focus on delivering #CustomerLove.

This year has been full of exciting change for Apptentive. In addition to a slew of new feature improvements, we’ve been hard at work thinking about what Apptentive’s future as a company looks like. To continue driving our momentum forward, we’ve made some changes to our internal processes, and are rapidly growing our team.

Today’s post shares our new team values, explores our new-and-improved office space, and dives deep into the roles we’re looking to fill.

Living new values

Since the beginning, our company values have been focused on hard, smart, and humble work. Those values will always be important to our team, but last month, we revisited our values in order to more accurately reflect who we are and who we want to be.

I’m excited to share our new Apptentive core values with you for the first time.

Deliver customer love

We are committed to taking a customer-first approach to our processes and our product. We care about our customer relationships and do the right thing for them, including looking after their interests even when they’re not present. We listen first and embrace the emotional connection of human beings, especially in our customer relationships.

Own your results

We collect and share data about successes and failures so we can make better decisions in the future. We view ownership of our individual results as a responsibility to the overall team. We do not place blame on others or argue “that’s not my job.”

Succeed together

We ask, “How can I help?” We respect and empower one another, invest in strong communication and collaborate because we are all on the same team. We know that people love Apptentive because anyone in the company will help you. We show up for each other.

Be transparent

We are committed to every teammate knowing “what” is going on and “why” to promote accountability and so we can all make the best decisions possible. We communicate proactively, highlight areas of challenge and strive to give all teammates insights into the business and our customers. We build transparency by being open particularly in challenging situations.

Celebrate change: Fail, learn, and improve

We celebrate experiments, risk-taking, and adaptability as opportunities to learn. We focus on improvement and execution rather than valuing stasis and comfortability.

Take action

We value speed in decision-making and encourage people to act today instead of tomorrow. We prioritize smart decisions made quickly over perfect decisions made slowly. We understand that while we might not always agree with the decisions, our ability to disagree and commit effectively is crucial to all of us acting and executing.

Bring your best self

We believe in the importance of the individual as part of the team. Take care of yourself. We help each person invest in their professional development and encourage everyone to ask for help when they need it, both personally and professionally.

Our team reflected on the behaviors we see day in and day out in order to create our new values, and labeled them to identify how we work best together. These values influence the choices we make, the people we hire, and the direction of our Apptentive. They are our DNA.

Expanding our space

In June, we officially doubled our office space. We’ve spent three wonderful years in our Pioneer Square building, and we’re excited to continue our growth in the same location, only now with plenty more room for activities!

Take a peek at our upgraded home-sweet-home.

Engineering demo to the company

Sales finding our next customers

Engineers hard at work

Customer Success smiling with our clients

Growing our team

We believe relationships matter and that customers are a brand’s biggest asset. To help us achieve our mission, we’re rapidly expanding our team. If you want to be responsible for empowering millions of consumer conversations every day, consider joining us!

What sets our company apart is our sense of team. We are truly here for each other and are working together to make Apptentive an amazing place with products that give our customers a deeper perspective to help build relationships.

We’re currently looking for the following people to join team Apptentive (head over to our Careers page for more detail):

Customer Success Manager

Senior Product Designer

Senior Product Manager

Senior Software Engineer (Backend)

VP of Finance and Operations

VP of Engineering

We value close collaboration, strong communication, and honesty. We also like to have fun by enjoying the wonderful food, nature, and sites Seattle has to offer. In addition to a competitive salary, we offer:

Full health, dental, and vision insurance coverage—Apptentive pays 100% of premiums

401k, ORCA Card, $50/month fitness membership stipend

Equity packages

No formal limit on paid vacation

Paid family leave

Team Days (e.g. Seafair BBQ, Ninja Escape, Thanksgiving potluck, paintball)

Weekly team lunches and mega snacks

Paid professional development (conferences/courses)

Fun, flexible work environment with standing desks and MacBooks

Work at one of PSBJ and Seattle Business Magazine’s Best Places to Work in Washington

Want to learn more?

I hope you have a better sense of who we are as a company and where our sights are set for team growth. The future of Apptentive is bright, and we’d love to share it with you!

I’d love to answer any questions you have about Apptentive, or to tell you more about the product and team. Reach out to me directly anytime, gloria@apptentive.com, or leave your thoughts in the comments below to get in touch with a member of our team.

The post Evolving Team Apptentive: New Values, Office Space, and Team Growth appeared first on Apptentive.

[darincjohnson]

Evolving Team Apptentive: New Values, Office Space, and Team Growth

Hey there! I’m Gloria DaPra, Apptentive’s new Director of People. I’m very excited to part of this amazing team that’s engaged and fully aligned toward our company goals. We have fun, and know how to focus on delivering #CustomerLove.

This year has been full of exciting change for Apptentive. In addition to a slew of new feature improvements, we’ve been hard at work thinking about what Apptentive’s future as a company looks like. To continue driving our momentum forward, we’ve made some changes to our internal processes, and are rapidly growing our team.

Today’s post shares our new team values, explores our new-and-improved office space, and dives deep into the roles we’re looking to fill.

Living new values

Since the beginning, our company values have been focused on hard, smart, and humble work. Those values will always be important to our team, but last month, we revisited our values in order to more accurately reflect who we are and who we want to be.

I’m excited to share our new Apptentive core values with you for the first time.

Deliver customer love

We are committed to taking a customer-first approach to our processes and our product. We care about our customer relationships and do the right thing for them, including looking after their interests even when they’re not present. We listen first and embrace the emotional connection of human beings, especially in our customer relationships.

Own your results

We collect and share data about successes and failures so we can make better decisions in the future. We view ownership of our individual results as a responsibility to the overall team. We do not place blame on others or argue “that’s not my job.”

Succeed together

We ask, “How can I help?” We respect and empower one another, invest in strong communication and collaborate because we are all on the same team. We know that people love Apptentive because anyone in the company will help you. We show up for each other.

Be transparent

We are committed to every teammate knowing “what” is going on and “why” to promote accountability and so we can all make the best decisions possible. We communicate proactively, highlight areas of challenge and strive to give all teammates insights into the business and our customers. We build transparency by being open particularly in challenging situations.

Celebrate change: Fail, learn, and improve

We celebrate experiments, risk-taking, and adaptability as opportunities to learn. We focus on improvement and execution rather than valuing stasis and comfortability.

Take action

We value speed in decision-making and encourage people to act today instead of tomorrow. We prioritize smart decisions made quickly over perfect decisions made slowly. We understand that while we might not always agree with the decisions, our ability to disagree and commit effectively is crucial to all of us acting and executing.

Bring your best self

We believe in the importance of the individual as part of the team. Take care of yourself. We help each person invest in their professional development and encourage everyone to ask for help when they need it, both personally and professionally.

Our team reflected on the behaviors we see day in and day out in order to create our new values, and labeled them to identify how we work best together. These values influence the choices we make, the people we hire, and the direction of our Apptentive. They are our DNA.

Expanding our space

In June, we officially doubled our office space. We’ve spent three wonderful years in our Pioneer Square building, and we’re excited to continue our growth in the same location, only now with plenty more room for activities!

Take a peek at our upgraded home-sweet-home.

Engineering demo to the company

Sales finding our next customers

Engineers hard at work

Customer Success smiling with our clients

Growing our team

We believe relationships matter and that customers are a brand’s biggest asset. To help us achieve our mission, we’re rapidly expanding our team. If you want to be responsible for empowering millions of consumer conversations every day, consider joining us!

What sets our company apart is our sense of team. We are truly here for each other and are working together to make Apptentive an amazing place with products that give our customers a deeper perspective to help build relationships.

We’re currently looking for the following people to join team Apptentive (head over to our Careers page for more detail):

Customer Success Manager

Senior Product Designer

Senior Product Manager

Senior Software Engineer (Backend)

VP of Finance and Operations

VP of Engineering

We value close collaboration, strong communication, and honesty. We also like to have fun by enjoying the wonderful food, nature, and sites Seattle has to offer. In addition to a competitive salary, we offer:

Full health, dental, and vision insurance coverage—Apptentive pays 100% of premiums

401k, ORCA Card, $50/month fitness membership stipend

Equity packages

No formal limit on paid vacation

Paid family leave

Team Days (e.g. Seafair BBQ, Ninja Escape, Thanksgiving potluck, paintball)

Weekly team lunches and mega snacks

Paid professional development (conferences/courses)

Fun, flexible work environment with standing desks and MacBooks

Work at one of PSBJ and Seattle Business Magazine’s Best Places to Work in Washington

Want to learn more?

I hope you have a better sense of who we are as a company and where our sights are set for team growth. The future of Apptentive is bright, and we’d love to share it with you!

I’d love to answer any questions you have about Apptentive, or to tell you more about the product and team. Reach out to me directly anytime, gloria@apptentive.com, or leave your thoughts in the comments below to get in touch with a member of our team.

The post Evolving Team Apptentive: New Values, Office Space, and Team Growth appeared first on Apptentive.

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