The heroes in the back row don't always stand out at a party

To start off this week in our spring blog relay we've got Alex writing today about his job as IT manager - catch up on entries from other Greenpeace staff.

I'm not going to parties as much as I used to, but since I joined Greenpeace in 2006 my party conversations are going different ways when I'm asked about my job. A typical conversation would look somewhat like this:

"So Alex,  where do you work?"

"I work for Greenpeace"

"Oh wow! That sounds exciting ... so what are you doing there?"

"I work in IT"

"Oh cool. Eh..."

At this point people look slightly confused, much like a child that was promised a bicycle for Christmas but only gets another pair of granny's woollen socks. Not that I mind this very much. I've been fiddling with home computers since the 80s, studied computer science in the 90s and have worked in IT for 11 years now. So I don't really expect this to win me any prizes at a party.

Before they get a chance to change the subject to something less tricky like climate change, "How do you like it in the UK?" or whether or not Germans have any sense of humour, I get a chance to find out what people really think when they say, "Oh cool. Eh...". The real version would sound something like:

"Oh. That sounds really boring!"

"What's Greenpeace got to do with IT???"

"Oh, right... someone's gotta do the laptops, email and the Internet box..."

Isn't it sad how much of the world of information technology people are missing (really!). Greenpeace has got a lot to do with IT and the main thing that motivates me is that we need and deserve a great IT system in order to save the planet. Does it get any better than that?

So, if you fancy an exciting conversation with us IT people at the next Greenpeace party or so, here are few things to know - just to get things going:

• Information is Greenpeace's business and information technology its nervous system. To be successful, we need a quick and reliable way to work with information - finding, receiving, processing, analysing, transmitting, publishing etc...
• IT tools allow us to get the most out of each pound we get from our supporters. The better the tools, the more efficiently we can work on our campaigns.
• Greenpeace IT is very much like Greenpeace. Our world is ever-changing and threatened and we protect our environment. We climb server-chimneys, navigate through seas of financial data, wade through program code and do non-violent user support (if we're given a chance). IT people need strong nerves and a thick skin!
• We're a small team of six people running the whole of IT.
• We're the heroes in the back row; the dark side of the moon; the Peter Parker side of Spiderman!

So. Now you know! See you at the party! Can't promise I'll be talking about IT though...