What have we stopped noticing?
The things we say, do, and accept without thinking twice.
Look closer where it comes from, what it assumes, and the case for keeping it
What you mean by it
Using your own product internally before customers do.
What it's actually picturing
The product is compared to dog food, and the team to whoever has to eat it.
What it takes for granted
It assumes dog food is unpleasant, something you'd only eat to prove a point.
Worth knowing
Playful industry jargon, traced to a 1988 Microsoft email. Some executives have pushed “drinking our own champagne” instead, but it hasn't caught on in the same way.
The case for keeping it
It's a joke about product quality and has nothing to do with dogs.
Say it plainly
Using our own productInternal beta
Or have some fun
Drinking our own champagne
Where this comes from
- Dogfooding: tech slang for working out the glitches · The New Republic
- Eating your own dog food · Wikipedia