graemecumming.com

We're currently in the recruitment phase for the DStv Labs team and I have been actively involved in selecting some of the members for the team. It's always difficult to try and figure a person out in the 30 or so minutes that you set aside to chat to them. There are the usual tech related questions that give you a sense for how knowledgeable they are, which blogs they read, what they know about scrum and agile software development methodologies, and my personal favourite - the gadget question.

The gadget question is important for two reasons. It gives you a sense for how technology minded the candidate is, as well as a sense for how they spend their time after hours - and what they do for fun. For example, if someone tells you that they are not really that into gadgets, or that their favourite gadget is their 2 year old Nokia N95, then you can probably assume that they are not technologists at heart. In fact, this exact example played out in the boardroom at DStv Online today. Candidate in question said that he was not a gadget guy - but preferred to spend time in the gym, and socializing with his friends. Probably not a good fit for a software development team that is focussing on media platform development and integration of online and broadcast technology.

As far as gadgets are concerned, one of the best gadget consolidation sites that I have come across to date, has to be GDGT (pronounced gee dee gee tee). The site contains what they call the world's largest device database, and after creating a profile for yourself, you trawl through the database and add the gadgets you currently own and the ones you want. Users can provide ratings and reviews on gadgets, see how popular particular items are, and follow other users. Take a look at my list of "owns" and "wants" and profile here. 

DStv Labs is a division of DStv Online, currently being setup and managed in collaboration with MIH SWAT