Paulien Thyssen 2IBM06 San-Francisco

San Francisco goal: Imgur

Going to San-Francisco was a goal and an achievement on its own afterwards. Before leaving on our
trip to San-Francisco, we had several information sessions where we got instructions about how our
study trip would be planned but also what our tasks would be. We got information in advance about
a goal we had to set for ourselves when going to this other part of the world. When Christel told us
about the objective(s) we had to set for ourselves for our field trip to San-Francisco, I immediately
knew this would be hard task to fulfil.

Giving us the task to come up with a goal and giving little details about how or what our goal should
entail, gave us a lot of creativity to come up with something that was suited for each individual of our
group. When I first thought about a goal, I thought this may not be easy to complete but after the
whole experience, I definitely underestimated this assignment. Being able to get a hang of speakers
and officials who want to free up their precious time to talk about interesting topics without getting
something in reward except for our undivided attention, is a hard task. Christel told us many
companies do not want to free up time because they simply cant or they do not want to because
there is nothing in it for them. Before I managed to understand that message, I tried to get in touch
with companies that were booming, near our hostel and interesting to me. I reached out to start-ups
and bigger companies, in total more or less 10 companies. From all these various emails and direct
messages on their website, I got 0 responses. A disappointing number because I was thrilled about
the companies I reached out to and I had high hopes.

Of course, I did not give up, since I knew having a goal was a crucial part of our study trip to San-
Francisco. It also was a unique opportunity to get an insight of how companies across the Atlantic
Ocean work and how they manage their employees. Since I have an interest in Human Resources, my
next shot was looking for companies in the Silicon Valley region that are specialised in Human
Resources Management. After finding several companies that were dealing with this topic, I started
looking for companies in the region where we were staying. Unfortunately, I did not have a lot of
luck. So, change of plans again! I asked for some help from some teachers, what kind of companies
they may suggest that are using special software related to Human Resources Management. Another
search and another disappointment later, I still was unable to find a company to reach out to that
was related to my topic of interest.

After the passing of several weeks, I still did not have a goal and the weeks leading up to San-
Francisco were rapidly declining. I started discussing my problem with others and they informed me
about a lecture they were attending regarding apps and technology. Not uncommon for the Silicon
Valley region, so I looked up some info about this Bay App Festival dealing with technology and apps.
It was a free event, located not far from the hostel and technology related, so I thought this was a
good idea. Together with Bianca, Evelien, Damieta and Sonja, we planned to go this event. After
registering, we felt content because we were able to find a seminar that counted as a goal that we
could attend without having to miss out any other planned events that we were going to as a group
in that week.

Another disappointment followed shortly after an update about our schedule of San-Francisco. Our
day off when we planned to go to the goal event, was changed to another date. When looking at the
schedule, we knew we did not want to miss out on planned activities and quickly decided that we
were not going to attend the Bay App Festival. The problem of finding a goal arose again.
Paulien Thyssen 2IBM06 San-Francisco

After discussing my current issue with a friend, Youp, I received a new idea. Three is a charm they
say, so I felt quite confident again. Youp told me about the online image sharing community called
Imgur. Of course, I already knew about this platform because Youp had already shared several
images of this platform with me before. Imgur states that they are the best place to share and enjoy
the most awesome images on the Internet.
Every day, millions of people use Imgur to be
entertained and inspired by funny,
heartwarming and helpful images and
stories from all around the world. Imgur was
founded in 2009 by Alan Schaaf in his Ohio
University dorm room. It started off as a
simple, no-limits platform to share images
online. (Imgur, 2009)

Youp told me about the easy way of being

able to contact this company. After looking
up more information about Imgur and
thinking about what other options I had left,
I decided to go for it and started thinking
about what would be a convincing one-liner.
Afterwards I wrote my text, sent them a
message on Facebook and on their site, and
hoped for the best. After a day, I had a
Facebook message from Imgur! Mindy read
my message and responded that she would
be willing to help me out. My initial contact
within Imgur was Mindy and she was able to
help me plan my entire visit to this company.
Initially, I was going to Imgur on the 21st of
April since this was a day where we had quite some free time. Mindy told me that she would be
unable to guide me through Imgur on that day because she would be away on a holiday. After an
exchange of several messages, Mindy informed me about the teambuilding day Imgur organized on
the 21st of April so a meeting and tour would not be possible on that specific date. We agreed on the
20th of April and she arranged a tour and interview guided by Isaac, their friendly office Canadian as
stated by Mindy. Other preparations for Imgur included coming up with some questions for the
interview and figuring out how we would be able to get to Imgur. In the middle of finding a goal, I
constantly updated several people about my struggle and progress. One of them was Evelien, we
were going to the Bay App Festival together but when this was cancelled, we both had to look for
something new. When I told her about the new idea of Imgur, she immediately wanted to join. I was
already in contact with Imgur so I proceeded with all of the other arrangements. Together we made a
list of questions we wanted to
ask and planned our way over
to Imgur.

After being in San-Francisco for

several days, the day to go and
visit Imgur was finally there. I
felt excited and thrilled
because I was able to find a
Paulien Thyssen 2IBM06 San-Francisco

company that was willing to welcome us. On our way over to Imgur, we saw a whole new
neighbourhood than the one we were used to, the Tenderloin. A change of scenery was a pleasant
aspect of our trip. Because we wanted to make sure that we were on time, we left on schedule and
arrived an hour early. We discussed our questions again and after some time passed, we continued
our journey to the company. We were welcomed by Isaac as discussed and he started to explain us
what the plan of today was. Before we could start the tour, we had to sign a document that
everything we saw in Imgur was confidential and we may not publish any of the content we had
seen. I was quite surprised by this document because I did not think that we would see any
information that was classified.

After the document hassle, we started the tour. Isaac explained that same as with the information
we got to see, we could not take pictures when we passed certain boarders. All other things may be
documented on our phones, so we did. When running into several people, Isaac always explained
who they were and what they did in the company, a small explanation of who we were and why we
were in the company always followed. When going through the company, I had the idea that the
atmosphere within the company was relaxed and very laybacked. When walking around, we saw a
lot of stuffed animals and several pictures or art works. After asking Isaac what they were and why
there were so many, he explained to me that every employee may design his workspace according to
their wishes. Many employees had stuffed animals, photos, some art etc. on their desks. I also
noticed some dogs when entering the company and whilst walking around, again after asking Isaac,
he explained that everyone may bring their pet if they want to. Thats why we saw 4-5 dogs just
wandering around.
Another remarkable thing I noticed, was the slippers that were next to someones chair. Isaac
explained that one of the employees works standing up and she wears those slippers because they
are very comfortable. Before we went to Imgur, I looked up some details about the company and
noticed that they were fairly large. When entering the company, I was immediately surprised in the
way the company worked and how they treated their employees. According to Isaac, there was no
one who was bossing people around and telling them what to do. Everyone had their own tasks and
activities and as long as they got their work done,
they were free to come in and leave whenever they
wanted to. For me, this was a whole new experience
because before I had never heard of a company that
worked like this in Belgium.

After seeing dogs, slippers and pictures, I already had

an idea of how this company functioned. But then we
had only seen the working spaces. After seeing the
nap area and the relaxing floor, this was a real eye
opener for me. I told Isaac that I was quite sure that
this was not common in Belgium and asked him how
this system was able to work. He explained to me
that because they were a company that provided fun content on the internet, a looser approach to
the employees followed naturally. On his first day, he came in dressed in suit and tie but quickly
changed to jeans and T-shirts because more comfortable clothing just felt nicer and more fitted in
the company. He changed from a strict regime to Imgur and felt more pleased about this way of
working. He is able to choose his hours and what he wears, which is something he really likes. But he
also explained the other side of the story to us, not everyone likes this way of working and some still
stick to the classical office hours.
Paulien Thyssen 2IBM06 San-Francisco

After the tour and the short interview we had with Isaac, I learned that looser company cultures may
be liked by some but not always all. I think I would like some components of the Imgurs company
culture, but definitely not all. The humour that is used and the choice of hours attracts me, but I still
am in favour of some rules. In the end, I liked the visit to Imgur because it was a possibility to see the
way companies with different company cultures work. During our study trip, we visited several other
companies that had components of Imgurs company culture but none of the other companies had
the same amount of freedom as the one we visited.

My overall experience of San-Francisco is positive, even though I did not like every part of this trip.
The several different topics that were discussed in lectures were interesting and some company visits
were truly eye opening. In my free time together with friends, we did certain activities that made the
trip definitely worthwhile. I liked the free time but on the other end, I would have liked a more
crowded schedule because I wanted to get the most out of my time in San-Francisco. When certain
activities were cancelled, the disappointment emerged. Some institutions that we visited such as
Yerba Buena Art Centre felt like they were not necessary for our study trip. With this I mean that it
was interesting to hear what certain institutions do for the community but I think, we had other
possibilities that we could have utilized instead of going to this type of event. Furthermore, I had a
great time at Adobe where we learned more about their company but they also learned about us
which made this a win-win situation. The San-Francisco study trip was an experience and in the end,
all things considered, definitely worthwhile even though now I may not completely comprehend all
the activities I have experienced.

All pictures were made by me.

Bibliography
Imgur. (2009). Imgur. Retrieved from the imgur story: http://imgur.com/about