William Smith
Product Specialist
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I grew up in a tiny town called Orinda in the east bay. I’ve attended over 100 Cal Football games in my life, and I loved the team so much, I had to go to college at Berkeley. I graduated with a degree in Political Science, after spending a summer traveling Europe and studying at Cambridge. I got to see the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, and Ireland, as well as England, Wales and Scotland. I am a huge nerd, having actually taken college courses on Middle Earth and super heroes, and failing to take a Star Trek course only because I couldn’t find anyone to teach it to me. I also love The Office, 30 Rock, and virtually any sitcom that involves stupid catchphrases. Finally, you should know I have a strange obsession with music and movies from the 80s. I love rockin’ to Bon Jovi and watching Rocky I-IV!

Jason the Intern
Product Specialist Intern
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I am from Cupertino and went to St. Francis High School in Mountain View, CA and in one month I will be starting my fourth year at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo as an AgBusiness, Marketing major. I love sports and enjoy collegiate wrestling, wakeboarding, foosball, ping-pong, slow-pitch softball, baseball, soccer, intramural flag football, 2v2 volleyball, snowboarding, skimboarding, and skateboarding. My hobbies and interests include doing aftermarket performance on cars, back flips on/off anything and everything, staying in shape, racing go-karts, hanging out with friends and doing anything new. I am a very outgoing person and love doing crazy activities that others would not attempt to do; I plan on going skydiving soon. I also enjoy sports watching professional sports and college football and basketball. Go SF Giants.

Joe the Intern
Search Marketing Intern
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Born and raised in the bay area (Los Altos), I embarked on my college experience 3 years ago at University of California Davis. I am a managerial economics major with an expected graduation date of June 2009. My interests include the internet, photography, music, and sports—basketball, volleyball, golf, ping-pong, and foosball are just a few. Favorite sport teams: SF Giants, 49ers, Warriors. Favorite TV shows include Lost, 24, Prison Break, The Office, South Park, Entourage, Planet Earth and Man vs Wild.

Last fall I had the opportunity to travel and “study abroad” throughout Western Europe. Countries I visited were Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, and England. Interning at Become has been a fantastic experience and I enjoy every minute of it. Now a little advice from the little knowing intern: do yourself a favor and go get some pocket change.

Linda Tsan
Product Specialist
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I am a tiny asian girl in a big, big world. Born and raised in San Jose, I've seen my fair share of I am a constant snacker, occasional artist, big time gamer, and closet trekkie. I thoroughly enjoy LOLcats and Faildogs. In the future I plan to have a Rat Terrier named Milton and a Bengal kitty named Norman and will create copious amounts of capshuns for them. I have an extreme fascination with anything and everything to do with the deep sea. My favorite animal is the coelacanth (surprise surprise). I love comedy in all forms! Stand up, cute jokes, popsicle stick humor. So if you have a good joke, feel free to tell me! I LOVE to laugh!

Dani Villalobos
Account Manager
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I consider both Salvatierra and Los Angeles my home towns. A framed picture of my folks goes everywhere I do. My greatest fear is heights; I realized this jumping out of an airplane. The parachute and instructor strapped to me were irrelevant by that point.
Gravity has never been my friend. Neither have trees. But doctors, nurses, casts—I have fond memories of all three. I particularly miss being able to draw on the casts with Sharpie markers. I love Sharpie markers.
Movies are a special interest of mine, and horror movies in particular. George Romero flicks make me giddy. Nihilistic visions aside, they remind me of my childhood.
I majored in English at Stanford. I was the kid circling and reworking awkward sentences in her sociology books. Someday I’d like to be a grumpy sea captain. I have no maritime experience and get seasick, but I read a lot of Hemingway.

Brent Callister
Researcher
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I’m originally from Los Angeles and graduated from Santa Clara University with a degree in marketing. My passion is sports and I’m an avid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Lakers…sometimes I wonder why I live in NorCal. I’ve played soccer internationally in Spain and France and have also spent a little time in Italy. If I’m not snowboarding during the winter, I enjoy a good movie…anything that stars Edward Norton (American History X, Fight Club…). I never miss an episode of The Office or Jeopardy and also like to spend countless hours re-watching 24 and Entourage on DVD. There’s nothing like a good board game such as Catch Phrase and Monopoly (preferably with a couple beers). My other interests include listening to music, (Nas and Rage Against the Machine), finding new places to eat, and watching baseball. My dream is to visit every Major League Baseball stadium and watch a game. Oh yea, I can solve a Rubik's cube.

Kris Belau
Search Marketing Specialist
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Somewhere deep inside me there is a hardcore gamer wondering why I have to spend so much time doing things other than video games. Thankfully, I can suppress that voice long enough to come into work everyday, but the battle always rages on. I have owned every system produced by Nintendo since the NES (including virtual boy), and have played nearly every MMO to be released onto the market since Everquest. My current obsessions are my Wii (which I stayed up all night in front of Best Buy to get), and World of Warcraft (two 60 priests and a 60 rogue).

However, I know that man cannot live on games alone. I graduated from Santa Clara University with a degree in Political Science and Philosophy, and I have a strong interest in international relations and metaphysics. When I'm not at work or in front of a video game I'm playing a round of golf. I have spent time in Greece, Germany, Korea, and Italy and hope to one day to be able to say I've visited every country in the world.

Sean McKnew
Account Manager
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I have this unusual affinity for drinking straws and will use them whenever I get the chance. Why? I haven't a clue. Anyway, I graduated from UC Davis where I studied Technoculture, which includes all kinds of snazzy topics relating to the digital realm. I absolutely love the digital arts and I regularly paint in Photoshop, fool around with digital video, and occasionally tweak knobs in Logic Pro.

I have been known to respond to a certain name other than my own and I typically park a good distance away from my destination, much to the dismay of my passengers. I'll go to a really bad movie if it has snazzy visuals and I absolutely love music with unexpected twists and turns.

Above all, I'm always seeking to expand my inner geek.

Former contributors

Jessica
Product Specialist Intern
Archive

I’m a Norcal girl, born and raised in Sunnyvale, California. I love the beach and the sunny warm weather in Malibu, where I attend Pepperdine University, but I often find myself missing the locality and the chill attitude of the Bay Area. I’m an integrated marketing and communications major at Pepperdine, and I’m looking forward to embark on my third and final year this fall. I’m a highly ambitious person who perhaps wants to achieve more in life than life can offer. Yes, I’m one of those people who have a list of things to do before I die. A few of these to-dos include traveling around Europe, learning how to make pottery, perfecting acrylic painting (because God knows I suck), taking a cake decorating class, swimming with the dolphins, earning an MBA, and having twins (this is my ultimate goal in life). In my free time, I love making and decorating random things, listening to music, watching romantic comedies, and eating white chocolate. I don’t watch TV at all, and I can’t stand people who sit on their butts all day. Now I’ll leave you with my token of gratitude for having the opportunity to intern here at Become. It’s been a great experience—one full of learning, great laughs, and quirky comments. Peaceee!

Jill Concepcion
Senior Researcher
Archive

One of my favorite pastimes is nightcrawling, second to people watching and laughing at my own jokes. I am a left-handed, recovering germ-a-phobe who has been known to inadvertently make sound effects and hold full conversations with myself think out loud. I would rather be traveling the world than settling in any one location for an extended period of time. I have lived in Italy, visited Spain, Prague, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, and Singapore. Next up on my list are Greece, Alaska, Australia, Nepal, Burma, Amsterdam, and Africa, in no particular order. I appreciate people more for their idiosyncrasies and caprice than for their normalcy and constancy. Patience is a virtue I do not have. I love music, procrastinating, foreign films, all things antique, and I have an unquenchable appetite for scouring vintage/secondhand stores. When I grow up, I want to be a travel journalist or stylist. Maybe even a writer of chick-lit or a psychologist. Better yet, a rock star or an astronaut. I am very decisive.

Tina Mai
Search Marketing Specialist
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Originally from Sacramento, my family moved to San Luis Obispo in 1998 where I resided until 2006. I went to Cal Poly and received my bachelors in Marketing and International Management in December of 2006. On my free time, I enjoy marinating in front of the TV and reading magazines. When I feel like being more active; snowboarding, yoga and pilates are some things that can get me off the sofa.
I’m a little bit of a walking oxymoron. I like order, cleanliness and schedules yet I’m messy, last-minute and am often times tardy. Oh yah and some other things about me: hard to please, like straight lines, must color in the lines, diet cokes, sunsets on the beach, enjoy arguing just for the amusement, roller coasters, scary movies, love songs and many more!

Sherry Feng
Account Manager
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Born in China, lived in NY and then Seattle (land of crappy weather). Graduated from Stanford. Majored in Product Design (memories mostly conjure up accidents with X-Acto blades and exploding glue guns and lots of foam core). I read spoilers before watching movies. I read the end of books before I read the beginning. My favorite places to shop are Club Monaco, Anthropologie, RevolveClothing.com (for jeans), craigslist (I love hunting for odd furniture), eBay (for things sold out elsewhere) and Plumeria here in Mountain View (cool owner and great vintage jewelry). Apart from shopping, I am addicted to Grey's Anatomy and I compulsively collect arty postcards and cut things out of magazines. I like puppies, hip-hop/rap music, and Bring it On, and I read Agatha Christie mysteries and Calvin & Hobbes.

Aram Cretan
Senior Researcher
Archive

I'm a Silicon Valley geek, born and raised. (Well, I was born in LA, but I'm trying to forget that part of my life. Which isn't hard, because it all took place before I was three. Regardless, both the Dodgers and Angels can bite me.) In college, my geekiness battled my desire to render myself unemployable; the latter won out in a five-year fight, so my resume now boasts that I was an American Studies major and manager of the Stanford Band. I am sustained largely by coffee, bourbon, Lean Pockets, and Teamball though rarely simultaneously. I was dull and corporate before dull and corporate was cool. I did not get that thing you sent me. That stuff you're into? I'm the guy who was into it before you.

I'm also the guy who makes that face in the company group photo. Yup. That guy.

Jennifer Nelson
Receptionist/Administrative Assistant
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I have been with Become.com since August of 2005. Before that, I spent 10 years with IBM in manufacturing, building tape drive storage systems in San Jose California, where I currently reside. My interests include web surfing, music, watching cooking shows and spending time with my family and friends. I am a HUGE U2 fan and have been spending a mass fortune going to concerts and collecting U2 memorabilia. When I am not being a U2 fan, I am traveling. My last trip was to Honolulu; future treks include Dublin, Ireland, and Berlin, Germany...with a few stops to Las Vegas in between!

Mimi Sells
PR Flack
Archive

I was born in a car in New York City enroute to the hospital. To this day, I am impatient.

I failed my driving test the first five times and didn't pass until my husband and I moved to California. I had a lot of car accidents those first few years, including crashing into a center divider and getting sued by the City of Los Angeles for destroying public property. Another time, I drove my car down some steps and crashed into another car on the sidewalk side! The good news is I never hurt anyone...seriously. I did run over my kids' feet once or twice as they scrambled out of the car as I impatiently (see paragraph one) drove off.

My last car had a broken antenna, and a windshield wiper that flopped in the rain. A previous car burst into flames as I exited the freeway because of a manufacturer defect. My current car is a used, 1998 silver sedan and it's the nicest car I've ever had. My older son drives a used convertible and is a great (if scarily fast) driver. My younger son is driving a 94 Toyota that he's beating to a pulp using the Braille parking method. My husband drives a shiny black sports car. He prefers that I don't drive it...something about not being able to relax.

Ben Cooley
Senior Researcher
Archive

I am a new father: my son, Michael David, was born on February 18th 2006. If you are expecting your first child or even thinking about having children, you have heard some form of: “It will completely and totally change your life.” And you probably know it, but knowing it and living it are two very different things. Nothing anyone can say or write will prepare you for the shock of being a new parent.

It is a lot of work. It really does limit the amount of sleep that you get. However, it is amazingly rewarding. Always be kind to your parents, they made lots of sacrifices for you that you don’t even know about.

I am also a gamer, which means I like to play all kinds of games. Now that I have this new perspective on life, I do play a lot less frequently. If you are a gamer without children, I have some advice for you. Your friends who recently had a child are now in a different world. Don’t expect much of their time, but if you are patient they will occasionally play a game with you. If you want to understand their world, have a child, or baby sit a small infant by yourself for a week.

Patricia Huang
Intern
Archive

I was born in Taiwan and came all the way here two years ago for graduate study. Spending one year in Illinois for a finance master, I am doing my second one in Statistics at Stanford. The second master was pursued as a gateway to a Ph.D in Strategy, but not anymore. Finally, I realized I’ve spent enough time being a nerd and decided to try something else.

I am extremely physically lazy. Instead of exposing myself in the sun, I spend most of my life indoors- 2 years for violin, 3 years for painting, 10 years for piano, and probably half of my time sleeping. Other than school, shopping malls and movie theaters are places that I will go voluntarily.

Loving hello kitty and other cute Japanese animated characters might be one of the reasons why I was often asked to grow up by my friends. I am also into Japanese manga, especially manga like Death Note and Bleach. I find the storylines and drawing styles of such material extremely engaging.

Melissa Jiang
Intern
Archive

I was born in China but raised in San Francisco. I attended a high school infamous for a riot that needed the SWAT team to come and control it. When people ask me about the incident, I simply shrug and say “enh, it builds character.” I just finished my third year at UC Berkeley double majoring in Cognitive Science and Social Welfare. I am concentrating on the computational modeling aspect of Cognitive Science which covers artificial intelligence concepts. Who knows, maybe one day I will build the world’s greatest humanitarian who just happens to be a robot.

My friends say I’m too much of a guy to be a real girl. I know more about computers, electronics, sports and cars than I do about jewelry, fashion, make up and purses. Designer names boggle me as there are simply way too many. Instead of spending my monthly income on the latest fashion (that is Sherry’s expertise), I would much rather indulge myself in sushi at my favorite restaurant. I consider clothes shopping a punishment and electronics shopping a blessing. I play a MUD--an old school, online text- based game--by the name of Dragon Swords where the male population is about 97%.

However, some of my guy friends still refuse to believe that I can be just as manly (if not manlier) than them. I love big huge dogs (especially Huskies) as opposed to little toy dogs. That dog there in the picture couldn’t even be controlled by my 6’ tall guy friend without being dragged around the whole block. Yet look who tamed it. Who’s the man now? ;)

Mike Lewis
Researcher
Archive

I'm a Chicago guy who was transplanted to Silicon Valley for school and never quite found my way home. Marginally interesting notes about me: I used to be very good at a couple of games. I'm not very fast: I took three hours to run thirteen miles, ten days to go 996 miles, and fifteen years to walk fifty feet.

 

Mustafa Abbas
Researcher
Archive

I take immense pleasure in sleep. It is a hobby and not just a necessity for me. I enjoy taking pictures of random things, playing cricket (yes, it is a sport too), uncontrollable laughter, general goofiness and breaking out into random frenzied dance. I ogle at beautiful cars all the time. Kindness inspires me and cruelty disgusts me without fail. I love my faith, my heritage and my cultural background. I see myself as an unreasonable romantic: passionate, perhaps foolishly so at times.

I was born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan. At 18, I decided to move halfway across the world to the strange yet amazing land of America to pursue an education and make a career for myself. My principal occupation since then has been dealing with culture shock, missing home and family, and trying to adjust to the starkly different life here. In the process, I got an undergraduate degree in Mathematics at Stanford University, made friends for life, learned to work hard, to never give up and to cherish people who are the exact opposite of who I am. I learnt that life is not always easy, but also that we have the power to choose to take a walk in the rain rather than complain about getting wet. I love America for whatever it has taught me about life and about myself, but my home will always be Pakistan.

AJ Magnuson
Senior Researcher
Archive

My name is AJ Magnuson. I like burnt toast and the smell of gasoline. My first favorite movie was The Breakfast Club when I was four because I could recite the whole Bender monologue right up to the imaginary cigar burn. I will cut a sandwich into fifths for all I care. I have a guitar named Rainmaker that I play in a rock band called The Animal Underground. I graduated from high school and college as well as an online bartending institute. I've worn the same pair of brown shoes everyday for almost 2 years now.I throw with my right hand and write with my left hand. My favorite sport is ultimate fighting and my favorite color is chartreuse. My first kid will be named Albert Earl Magnuson IV because it builds character.

Daryl Griffin
Sales Manager
Archive

I graduated from UC Berkeley a few years ago (GO BEARS!). While there, I was a journalist for BearInsider. After graduation I worked as an Operations Manager for a major retailer. Want more? I was born and raised in California with the majority of it spent in the East Bay. I love soccer, swimming, Cal football, and learning the nuances of different beers and wines. In high school I was on the championship chess team though I only play for money these days. I started my own bulletin board system when I was 13. Does anyone even know what a SysOp is anymore? I started building/assembling my own computers when I was 15. It is still by far the most fun and least expensive way to get a new computer every year and stay on top of the industry changes. Now I am in the internet field! Teach me to Become one with the Internet Sensei for I am the grasshopper!

Mercedes Roy
Researcher
Archive

I have been with the company since June 2005 after graduating from Stanford with a BS in Product Design--which is why I appreciate well designed products and useful gadgets. I'm lost without my iBook, WiFi access, impulsive eBay buys and random trips to Ikea. When I'm not shopping or surfing the internet, I'm simultaneously watching my Roomba vacuum my apartment and heckling bad TV shows while enjoying a mango margarita. I'm an awesome cook--so awesome, in fact, that my world famous chocolate pudding is being requested by scientists for future use as cement. To make up for my inability to make desserts, I make a mean mojito.