I have lots to say about BlogHer – and will be sharing it over the next few weeks. It was quite an emotional event for me on a bunch of levels. With all the buzz about Microsoft is launching Windows Live Spaces tonight I thought I would chime in on that aspect of BlogHer.
Basically I was completely turned off what ever they might be doing in there space by the “BE JANE” skit at BlogHer.
Amy Gahran sums it up:
“Still, I had to cringe at the campy, off-target Microsoft presentation during the welcome session just a few minutes ago.
To promote its new Windows Live Spaces service, someone at Microsoft thought it would be appropriate and fun to send a couple of bouncy, bubbly, sexy, carefully scripted 20-somethings uniformed in tight t-shirts and jeans to banter giddily for about 10 minutes on home improvement. It sounded like Barbie doing ‘Tool Time’ in stereo.”
Teachermama also had thoughts:
All around me, people were making comments about feeling like ‘Math is hard’ Barbie was up on stage talking WAY down to us. Here’s a hint: if you’re facing a ballroom full of hundreds of smart, tech-savvy women, ‘home improvement is scary’ isn’t the way to our hearts.”
I know some great people at MSFT – Kim Cameron, Lilly Chang and some other great folks who are actually the best human being marketer types you could imagine – Brady who just left for O’Reilly, Liz Lawley who just left after her sabbatical year there and of course the biggest loss of all – Scoble.
Imagine how cool MSFT’s blogging tools platform and approach could have been if they had just listened to the people who get it and have a relationship to the community (like Scoble who instead he is off making PodTech cool).
Note to Balmer – stop letting the good people you have go and stop putting the marketing morons in charge. And for god sakes don’t fuck up the messaging around Vista, Cardspace and Identity. I think we need to have an intensive heart to heart with the identity community and your marketing ‘army’ before things roll out.
Some folks like Kevin O’Keefe at Lexblog picked up on this, and gave some constructive feedback –
Microsoft “should have gone the low key approach as at Gnomedex. Write a check to a worthwhile program, get thanked on various occasions, and get out of the way.”
On the up side….Kim just blogged this…
An unequivocal Yes: Windows Live ID will accept third party authentication for access to Microsoft properties.
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