This doc is inspired by the idea of Manager README from hackernews. Although I am not a manager, I thought this would be a helpful manual for people to know me a bit more and make clear on what you could expect from me, especially when we work across teams.

Who I am

  • I am a Chinese guy so I prefer people to call my Chinese name Xiaomeng(晓猛). For those of you who do not know Chinese very well, the pronounciation is roughly [sh ih ow] + [m Oh ng] (or Shaw-mon roughly). Over years, I have developed a skill to know when people call my name no matter how they pronounce it. So no pressure. :)
  • A bit more on myself, I came to UK in 2010 and then worked for Bloomberg for 8 years. In Feb 2020, I joined FB. Since then I firstly worked on data transfer project then transferred to Augmented Reality team.
  • Apart from the day job, I am interested in all sorts of technologies that are cool and I am particularly passionate on those I can play with!

What you can expect from me

  • I work in London Hours. 8:00am to 6:00pm is my allocated time for day work and meetings, and I am generally not available outside these hours. My lunch time is from 12:30 to 13:30. Pre-pandemic, I normally did a 7k during this break. But now I would take a nap instead.
  • I read all messages/notifications sent by human and I am aiming to respond within one working day. Use instant messenger if you need me immediately.
  • I always keep my calendar up to date. If you need me for a meeting, please drop an invite at any empty slot. I acknowledge every meeting invite. I would tentatively accept it when I don’t know my availability just yet.
  • Generally I do not get engaged in chatroom discussion very actively. If you have important information for me, email or p2p messenger are preferable. They just work better for me.

When you talk to me

  • Even though I grew up in a high-context Chinese culture, I am heavily leaning towards direct communication. If you think I am doing something wrong, please speak to me without any filtering. I do not get offended by any direct comment as long as it is honest and sincere.
  • Many people would describe me as an idea person. I am proud about my constant flow of new ideas and very enjoy turning these ideas into working products. However, it does cause me to operate with many distractions and sometimes I would lose focus on the present. If you catch me not being focus on the spot, please do me a favour and call me out as loud as possible. This has always been one of my weakness I genuinely hope I can improve it.

What I believe

  • I firmly believe that talented people can self organize and make reasonable decisions to move things forward. I would encourage my management/peers to focus on setting the necessary context. I would do the same if I am in a position to delegate jobs to others.
  • I am deeply motivated by my interests in technology as well as recognition from people who share similar mindset. I am generally at my best when I am doing work I believe in and feel passionate about.

What I am currently interested in

  • Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
  • Decentralised web and interoperability
  • Cryptography and privacy technologies
  • Any technologies that may change how people live