FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
About this site
Why do you call it SlingAlibi?
SlingAlibi is a type of a cipher, in the form of an anagram. I have a penchant for anagrams and palindromes. What a better way to name codeslinging content? I will leave it up to you to find the nearest anagram machine to decipher the cipher. And will leave you with one of my favorite palindromes: Step on No Pets. (The longest one I know is A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama).
Who is the author?
So now you have probably figured out the anagram - Asli Bilgin. I work for Microsoft Middle East & Africa, and am based out of Dubai; although home is in Manhattan, New York, where I have lived for the last 10 years. Prior to this role, I served as a Developer Evangelist for 7 years at Microsoft, first as part of our National Architecture Team, then later moving into cover financial services on Wall Street. After the financial crisis, I moved into cover a broader audience through the Microsoft local software economy and community. This was a unique role and offered me a great deal of perspective to see the impact software has on not only just on what's behind the firewall, but what ignites people to build software. Throughout my tenure at Microsoft, I have explored ways we can bring in more diverse groups of people into our software community to turn their ideas into reality. I welcome suggestions on just how we create a diverse ecosystem and you can read more below about the intent of this blog to help foster new ideas and innovation in the software development field by embracing different points of view, cultures, and perspectives.
My current role & official bio: Asli Bilgin leads Web Strategy for the Microsoft Developer & Platform Evangelism team in Middle East & Africa. In this role, she drives future vision for software development in the Cloud through hosters, partners, and enterprises through programs such as WebSiteSpark and products such as the Web Platform Installer. She is the founder of WomenBuild and iGive, two programs focused on workforce stimulus, specifically geared at developing professional and pre-professional women who possess an aptitude for science and technology . Prior to joining Microsoft, Asli was employed as a technical manager and developer at Dell and at Xerox. Asli is a recognized presenter at conferences across the globe and she serves as contributing and author to various technical publications. She is the author of several books Mastering Database Programming With Visual Basic.NET (Sybex), as well as technical learning series, such as ASP.NET AJAX (Total Training).
If you think New York City is a melting pot of culture and diversity, then take a look at the region we cover in Microsoft Middle East & Africa - 79 countries, over 2 dozen languages, and a diorama of culture within Microsoft The Developer Platform & Evangelism team for Web Strategy in Middle East & Africa and outside Microsoft Developer Ecosystem In Middle East & Africa.
Now if someone could come up with a better time zone management tool Middle East & Africa Time Zone Scheduling Guide!
How is the content organized?
The goal of the site is to empower people with technology and is geared to anyone who has a passion for enhancing your personal and professional life with software development. There is content for both the experienced and the newcomer. Most of the content will be grouped as "books" using Categories to define related content. For example, there are (will be) books on ASP.NET Tips, Windows Live Tips, and Jettsetters Tech Tips. These will be primarily technical in content, so you should definitely have a bit of background in software development in order to really appreciate them. All the tips are categorized by level. Anything below 100 is simple, very easy beginner stuff. 100 Level means that you've worked a little bit with that technology. 200 is intermediate. 300 is advanced, 400 is deep dive. Each Friday, there will be a Living Wiki published (yes I know it's really redundantly repetitive) that contains a multiple of tips on a particular end goal - like being the best demo'er.
Most of the technical content is geared towards answering the question "Why Do I?", as this question is seldom answered in favor of the "How Do I?". I'll point you to the how-to's - there's enough content out there, and here we'll focus more on the rationale behind choosing one technology or technique over another, ideally demonstrating business or personal value in your world.
There are several "books" geared to the meta-data around the industry, specifically around Women in Technology, and naturally, LEGO. Read The Story of WomenBuild, Women in Technology What's What and Women in Technology Who's Who for getting familiar with current people, events and issues around this space. These posts will generally be published on the weekends.
For those of you who have zero background in software development, yet are intrigued by the things you can do, read the series New2.NET. This will walk you through the serious business of collecting charms and how you can use that experience to deepen your enjoyment of a particular collecting hobby. And hopefully learn how to build your resume with some core competencies at the same time.
At Microsoft, we are always looking for fresh talent, especially coming from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. As you know from the I am a PC campaign, PC users come in a variety of different shapes, sizes and forms. We want to make sure that the creators of the software that you use represent just as diverse of a pool of perspective. For more information on our goals for diversity, please read more. I am happy to answer any questions you have on how you can make a difference and to counter stereotypes, such as the "PC Guy".
What tool do you use for your blog?
Surprisingly enough, this site is running on Microsoft technology, with a great code base called BlogEngine.NET. I talk about exactly how I got it all set up here. My number one priority now is to be pure 100% Microsoft, so need to figure out the .NET equivalent of the Feedburner technology.
How can I subscribe?
Subscription is easy and free. You'll see a link to subscribe to the main RSS feed at the top of every page. Adding this feed to your client of choice (Outlook, Internet Explorer, cell phone) will subscribe to you to all the content that's published on this site.
Alternately, BlogEngine.NET has a great feature that allows you to subscribe specifically to a category. Each category is designed for a specific audience. So if you aren't into tweaky (yawn) little tips on ASP.NET and are here instead for the drama of WomenBuild, you can subscribe strictly to the WomenBuild feed. For you techie types, if drama and intrigue make your eyes cross, you can opt out and reverse that logic. Be sure to click directly on the orange RSS feed icon itself to pick up the feed.
You can also subscribe to email.
How can I contact you? 
You can follow me on twitter or contact me at asli (at) slingalibi (dot) com. If you have questions on a specific post, please ask them within the comments so others can benefit from the answer. You can also post general questions through the contact form, which will route to the email address. I will try to answer each mail, and if I don't please wait a week and send again so it floats back to the top of my Inbox.
Can I distribute or use content from SlingAlibi? 
The goal of this site is to create new and interesting content that helps explain technology in an easy to understand point of view, and is not a filter blog that reposts from other sources. In order to keep the site content unique, all the content within SlingAlibi.com is protected.
- No reuse. Please do not copy, distribute, reuse or modify the content without explicit permission from me. Based on case by case circumstances, I may agree to allow short excerpts to be reproduced with links back to original article. However, permission must be granted before you do so.
- Atttribution. You may link to the content if done with proper acknowledgement to SlingAlibi with a credit link that points directly to the posting itself, not just to the home page of this site.
Any violation of the copyright restrictions will warrant a cease and desist request. Continued non-compliance will be reported to your current and future web hosting companies, search engines, and social networking forums.
I posted a comment, why don't I see it listed?
I reserve the right to moderate comments and will not post any off-topic or hurtful comments. I will not publish comment spam or trackback spam, and in fact will charge fees should you attempt to solicit content that has nothing to do with the post.
What is your privacy policy?
Email addresses or personal information posted in your comments will not be shared, sold, or given away to any one. Period.
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