Meet the Team - John

Name? John Lyons

How long have you been at Blackbaud? 1 year

What technology from the past do you wish would make a comeback? Well, I’m still waiting for one of those hoverboards from the Back to the Future movies. Does that count? It’s not really a comeback since they never existed, but way back when those movies came out, I remember reading that everyone would have one of those things by now.

Favorite part of technical communication? The fact that there is always something new to learn. Whether it’s new features in our programs, ways to tailor documentation to our users’ needs, or the technology behind the programs, there is always plenty to learn. The work environment at Blackbaud is great, and it offers plenty of learning opportunities.

Products you work on? Blackbaud Enterprise CRM and Blackbaud NetCommunity

Other projects you work on? I’ve been working on a consistency project to create a style guide for products on the Infinity platform, and I handle updates to the sample database for The Raiser’s Edge. I’ve also been learning Visual Basic and trying to familiarize myself with VBA and API in The Raiser’s Edge.

How did you get into technical writing? Just lucked out, I guess. After working for newspapers for about 10 years, I decided for the second time that I needed to get out and move to something more technical. (The first attempt was back in 2000 when I started studying computer networking and got the CCNA certification. Unfortunately, I managed to get my certification just as the dotcom bubble was bursting.) Luckily, this time around my sister worked at Blackbaud and passed along my resume.  … The paper where I worked just started a “voluntary separation program” to buy out employees, so it seems like switching fields was a pretty good idea.

What's changed about Blackbaud since you've been here? Lots of new faces. I’ve only been here for a year, but even in that short time, it seems like we’ve hired a ton of new people. The ones who are fresh out of college make me feel REALLY old.

What hasn't changed? The great work environment. All jobs have their ups and downs, but the positive work environment at Blackbaud and the great coworkers make a huge difference.

What's one unique thing about you? Nothing really … Although I do have an inordinate number of pink shirts that I actually wear on occasion. My wife buys them and claims to really like pink on me, but I suspect she just gets a kick out of seeing me look silly. However, there might be more to it than that, because even before she started buying all those pink shirts, I had one pink button-up that I’d wear occasionally; maybe a few times a year. When I wore it, I consistently got compliments from female coworkers. A coworker picked up on this and started wearing pink too, and he got the same response. So either women really like pink dress shirts, or they just like when guys look silly. Or maybe both.

Anything else? Well, as much as I like my job, the best thing about working at Blackbaud has nothing to do with work. My favorite perk is a pickup game of basketball with some guys who work here. Twice a week, we play ball before work from 6 to 7 a.m. I’ve been told by more than one person that I’m crazy to get up that early, but it’s really one of the best parts of my week.