So, opening a sentence with 'so' started with programmers and engineers

So, here's a great piece by Anand Giridharadas in the New York Times on using "so" to start sentences -- a practice that apparently started with engineers and programmers in Silicon Valley in the 90s, and something Microsoft employees also claim started with them. Obviously we use it a ton at Engadget -- at this point we're all riffing on each other, but I know I picked it up from San Francisco-based Ryan Block when I first started. Interesting to see how small parts of tech culture like this are influenced by so many variables -- Giridharadas says "so" makes it easier for people of different backgrounds and languages to communicate, because it's a catch-all transition that almost always works, implying a understanding of what's come before. I rather like that.