I want to talk about the last thing I thought I’d ever want to talk about: Star Trek.

This is coming from someone who only, on Friday last week, AFTER seeing the new Star Trek movie on IMAX with Team Picnik, found out that it was a young William Shatner who played the original Captain Kirk. So you can tell that up until now I’ve managed to avoid all things Trek.

And yet I’ll be the first to admit that I totally loved the movie! I even walked away with a newfound crush on Spock (there’s just something about that inner struggle between logic (vulcan) and emotion (human) that gets me every time).

Star Trek is totally funny, slightly campy and 100% adventurous. It also delivers an important and (unfortunately) underused message. Oftentimes blockbusters like this are more singular in their nature, adhering to the all too familiar “hero’s journey”. The timeless story which revolves around one main character, who (with the help of a few quirky friends) is able to: self-actualize, win the girl and save the world.

Star Trek is different.

For one, Captain Kirk doesn’t get the girl (at least not in the movie), but the message is really about the awesome efforts and outcomes of a united team! Like Picnik, the crew aboard the Starship Enterprise is equally contributing to the success of each mission! Just to name a few, there’s Chekov, who masterminds navigation and handles some seriously close calls in the “beaming” depot. Sulu, who pilots the ship through even the most extreme battles, and there’s Uhura, interpreting and relaying all communications.

Throughout the entire movie I could not help but think of Team Picnik. I even got a little choked up at the parts (no spoiler here) where the importance of a team effort was particularly noted. I thought of Justin (Penguin Handler) scurrying about the ship, tightening loose cables and reporting/monitoring S3 problems. Or Charlie (QA Manager) ferociously testing away and tracking space bugs with the sharp aid of Ali (QA Deputy). Sonia and Chelsea (Community Therapists) are always fending off attacks and providing the team with important feedback. There’s Peter (The Designer) and Michael (The Other Designer) creating the designs and emblems for the ship, making sure we always look awesome out there in space. Virginia (copywriter), always eagerly documenting and reporting out all of our missions and adventures. Brenda (Community Liaison) our voice on a distant planet, diplomatically building community in far off lands. I (Office Manager) maintain the ship and make sure the crew is armed with all necessary weapons and tools to get the job done. Steve (Software Engineer), Brian (Quixotic Softographer) and Alastair (Data Stylist) team up not only to battle evil space bugs, but to fix and build our precious ship. Lisa (CMO) is there to help navigate the ship, steering us into more profitable galaxies. Mike (COO), Jonathan (CEO) and Darrin (CTO) each with his own critical starship duties, united they keep us safe and happy by managing the crew on our (sometimes dangerous) missions!

My points are:
#1. I have a crush on Spock.
#2. I’m clearly a geek who’s taken the Star Trek allegory too far.
#3. Team Picnik flies one heck of a ship, and we fly it together!

There’s never a dull moment here at Picnik World HQ and its super exciting to be part of such an amazing team! I just want to thank the Picnik crew and tip my hat to the adventures that await us.

Here’s to boldly going where no startup has gone before!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 at 5:09 pm and is filed under teampicnik. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.