Microsoft tells MVPs “we’re in it to win” — Really?
Look at my last post. Now read this one over on LiveSide. It’s a short report that Microsoft executives are bragging to MVPs that “we’re in it to win.”
I don’t think Microsoft is. The words are empty. Microsoft’s Internet execution sucks (on whole). Its search sucks. Its advertising sucks (look at that last post again). If that’s “in it to win” then I don’t get it. I saw a bunch of posts similar to the one on LiveSide coming out of the MVP Summit. I didn’t post any of them to my link blog for a reason: All were air, no real demonstrations of how Microsoft is going to lead.
Microsoft isn’t going away. Don’t get me wrong. They have record profits, record sales, all that. But on the Internet? Come on. This isn’t winning. Microsoft: stop the talk. Ship a better search, a better advertising system than Google, a better hosting service than Amazon, a better cross-platform Web development ecosystem than Adobe, and get some services out there that are innovative (where’s the video RSS reader? Blog search? Something like Yahoo’s Pipes? A real blog service? A way to look up people?) That’s how you win.
Oh, and Ballmer, if I ran Google your speech at Stanford yesterday would be plastered on every door on every campus Google has. Why? It’ll motivate Google employees the same way a coach will motivate an opposing team during the Superbowl by taking trash in the press. You’re up against a formidable competitor and one you’ve never seen before that has some real, significant weapons that you can’t deal with (and YouTube isn’t even close to it). Google’s secret weapon? It controls the entire stack in the datacenter. Google writes its own hard disk drivers. It has its datacenter hardware built to its spec. Ever wonder why Live.com is slower than Google? Hint: it’s cause Google is out executing Microsoft in the datacenter.
This isn’t Netscape you’re talking trash to, Steve. Have you really studied Google? It doesn’t sound like you have.
Again, Microsofties, you’d be better served not to talk trash until you have something YOU CAN SHIP!
I sure hope they don’t show up at Mix07 with this kind of “we’re in it to win” talk. The MVPs might be easy to talk into doing some cheerleading but the rest of us are over that now. We’re looking for signs of leadership and so far we don’t see it.
Sigh.
March 16th, 2007 at 3:04 am
“better cross-platform Web development ecosystem than Adobe”
This is the flash2.0 thing they are touting - does it work with Google thats the only browser you sould write for thease days
March 16th, 2007 at 3:08 am
Neuromancer: yes, look here: http://finance.google.com/finance?q=MSFT
That chart? It’s done in Adobe Flash.
March 16th, 2007 at 3:09 am
*sigh* indeed. In it “to win”? And what happens to the rest of us who are in the trenches? Businesses don’t pick software because they perceive the product to be from ‘winners’, we choose products because they work, provide value and yeah, are probably best of breed because the features kick ass.
My job is not to provide winningest software to the business I support - it is to make sure they get their hands on the very best software that helps them succeed.
Darn it Microsoft, make ME the winner. Or go home.
March 16th, 2007 at 3:36 am
“Microsoft isn’t going away. Don’t get me wrong. They have record profits, record sales, all that.”
Yes, they are going away, albeit slowly. And they don’t have record anything when it comes to financial performance as reflected by its stock price, during Ballmer’s disastrous reign:
March 16th, 2007 at 3:42 am
Microsoft are the old guard trying to hold on to the fading glory. IBM->Microsoft->Google - I am more interested in who will supplant Google now than worrying about Microsoft, though I would still like to see Microsoft succeed :)
For all Googles perceived invincibility, it was a couple of low-level people who saved the company from what I understand. Adwords/Adsense wasn’t in the business plan from the get-go, it was an employees bright idea. All those billions of dollars that move through the company might not have been there if some dude hadn’t taken a good look at Overture and thought they could do it better. Microsoft needs to start listening to their real outside the box thinkers and forget about clinging to shrinkwrapped software and de facto operating system “taxes”. They have money, credible competition and smart people - surely enough ? :)
March 16th, 2007 at 4:22 am
[...] I see Scoble is up pretty late too. [...]
March 16th, 2007 at 4:23 am
Considering Microsoft’s addiction to “Everything By Committee and Consensus”?
No chance. Microsoft can’t allow any group that small to do anything. It’s not the Microsoft Way.
March 16th, 2007 at 4:43 am
Re working with google
Er what I was geting at was does it get indexed corectly if you build a compleat site in it and not just a graph on a more traditionaly.
I’me also not totaly convinced by Googles DIY aproach writing your own hdd drivers? - I bet theres a lot of kludgy stuff we dont see in there DC’s
March 16th, 2007 at 4:49 am
This might very well be the toughest Microsoft shoot-out post you’ve ever made. Facinating! :-)
But your analysis seems to be limited to the consumer services that Microsoft is working on. Although this is the bigger piece of the market, it’s still important to consider the business solutions strategies that Microsoft is pursuing. Recent announcements, such as the “Bookkeeper community” (Windows Live Finance if I remember correctly) contradicts some of your critizism. Being in the business solutions market today means watching Microsoft very, very closely for exactly the reasons you argue make Microsoft not doing “Internet”.
March 16th, 2007 at 5:00 am
Welcome back, Robert!
March 16th, 2007 at 5:26 am
Ballmer says MS did two things well, and google only does one thing well. But this is wrong. Search - one, Adwords/Adsense - two. They may be somewhat related, but are separate. Ranking sites, and responding correctly to queries is one thing. Billing advertisers, and having a system for advertisers to create, and classify their ads is something different. Remember, wasn’t MSN using another company for its ads until recently
March 16th, 2007 at 5:46 am
Ballmer-bashing aside (nothing wrong with that), Microsoft is doing business solutions way better than Google (with business solutions I’m talking ERP solutions), and they’re definitely doing it online. What Google have shown in that space so far is… nothing unique, innovative or especially useful.
(I’m the one behind the “boreno” nickname, btw).
March 16th, 2007 at 6:11 am
When Google is serious about a product they don’t stop until they get it right. Their search engine was noy good from day one. If google is serious about business solutions, watch out - they will persist until they get it right. The Google Reader Team was serious about it, and stuck to it till they got it right. But Google Reader was not a company wide priority, only to the reader team. If the company is serious about business solutions, watch the various get going. This is why google bought Youtube; they were serious about online video; their own wasn’t having traction, so they bought.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:17 am
Wow, maybe you don’t want to work for Microsoft ever again after all :)
(This seems more show than tell, however)
“Again, Microsofties, you’d be better served not to talk trash until you have something YOU CAN SHIP!”
Got to tip your hat to Microsoft in the console gaming sector, Robert. The Xbox 360 is rocking and they managed to create the best online console gaming out there (Xbox Live) against the odds. Sony has an interesting idea with Home if they get enough people to pay too much for a PS3, or lower the price to be competitive, but right now it looks more like Nintendo could be the threat going forward.
Vista sucks, Tablet PCs are still overpriced, UMPCs are nowhere to be seen, IE continues to leak users to Firefox and the list goes on.
But as long as Microsoft has the warchest of $$$ they are at least in the running.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:31 am
While I agree Microsoft (and Yahoo!) both need a blog search(and that Google needs to move blog seach onto the front page immediately), to say that Microsoft search sucks is broad and unfounded. I recently had an experience where I needed to delete an item at the request of someone from my flickr account. Within a week, the live.com and ask.com indexes had updated for it - item gone. Google and Yahoo! still have the item cluttering up their index one month later with a phantom item - now *that* is irrelevancy defined.
In a related matter, what is del.icio.us doing about rogue del.icio.us scraper sites? poorly written scrappers are combing multiple entries creating serious reputation management issues. Who indexes these sites? Again, not live.com or Ask, but Google and Yahoo!
Robert, you are not looking at the whole story with your statement. More data on top of spammy results is not more valuable in many situations.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:34 am
[...] Scoble seems to agree: Oh, and Ballmer, if I ran Google your speech at Stanford yesterday would be [...]
March 16th, 2007 at 6:39 am
Robert, how did MS search go from being only slightly less worthy than Google’s to sucking in less than a year?
http://scobleizer.com/2006/10/12/microsofts-search-a-lot-better-than-it-used-to-be/
March 16th, 2007 at 7:03 am
Greg - By not taking advantage of the situation and shipping something better. Instead, they’ve sat on their behinds and managed to shed their search management in the process. Is that exhibiting leadership in any form/fashion?
I can create a version 1.0. If I don’t iterate/improve in some perceptible manner in one year’s time… I SUCK! ergo… MS Search = SUCK
In the past year Google’s added layer upon layer to their search results, grown their data centers immensely. Meanwhile, MS has only “budgeted” for it. Big woop.
START SHIPPING! or take the whipping!
March 16th, 2007 at 7:23 am
Microsoft doesn’t innovate, I worked 10-15 years ago with Sybase/Unix then Microsoft did SQL, everybody said, It doesn’t work, Microsoft should do DOS not DataBases, now you can see where is Sybase. I think Microsoft its a very copy/cat, they see something and work in version 1, 2 maybe 3 and suddenly they have a better product.
So, if I see Microsoft is doing something I wait..
March 16th, 2007 at 7:40 am
Scoble: To clarify, I think specifically what Microsoft is trying to say is that they’ve learned from the past and are going to correct mistakes for the future, and that’s how they expect to win. I’m going to be critical as well, just like any MVP or even a Microsoft employee should be, but additionally I like the optimism. I think part of the reason Google is winning is they have confidence that they can, and wave 1 of Windows Live has taken a beating, management needs to make some changes, as well as increasing morale.
I know I’ll be disappointed in not being able to see more stuff before release, but just like Allchin was hammered for “taking things out of Vista”, no one else at Microsoft wants to hear any crap anymore. Thus they’re going to keep quiet and go back to the basics of releasing great products and services, and concentrate on listening to feedback.
Something we can all do is offer Microsoft constructive criticism. I think some press/blog sites want to make outrageous claims that Windows Live is dead, or whatever, and that doesn’t help anyone. Microsoft is building some great products that we’re all going to love, which increases competition in the industry. We will all benefit from an even faster moving industry where all companies think “we’re in it to win!”
As always, thanks for your comments Robert.
@Matthew
March 16th, 2007 at 7:43 am
Overlooked is that iTunes is a sophisticated web application in disguise which integrates services and software. So you might also add to your wish list that Microsoft make a better media store than Apple’s, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one either.
March 16th, 2007 at 7:45 am
Windows Update Disables Firefox as Default Browser
After the OneCare fiasco (the “protection” program removed the users Outlook data file) Microsoft quickly issued a patch, along with some other fixes. The most recent Windows update no longer attacks Microsoft’s own products. Only the competit…
March 16th, 2007 at 8:02 am
[...] do you think GooglePhone will do for business users? And, is Microsoft really in it to win (via Robert Scoble)? Explore posts in the same categories: Samsung, iPhone, GooglePhone, erp, LG, Windows Mobile, [...]
March 16th, 2007 at 8:21 am
Well, I think Google is on a stage where they could do no wrong, but it is dangerous for a company who is doing a lot of things just for the coolness factor. Last great innovation I constantly heard from google is giving free massage, free car wash, free food, free laundry, and free shuttle rides to their employees….
If you have been to the Microsoft MVP summit, you will note that there were hundreds of sessions going on — real focused partners talking to MS developers and executives about hundreds of products evolving and solving real life business world problems in real corporations that will earn hard more hard cash.
If that isn’t the business, I don’t know what is.
Google may also be reining in cash, but for now, they have consumers market and still hardly matter to real enterprises except I reckon the ad folks. and it is when you have products that solve problems and creates solutions for big bucks companies with personal relationships that you really have a long term viable business that signals that you will be there for a long time to come.
I do business with both,and I know dozens of Microsoft people who I correspond, talk and meet, and all I know in google is working through their web sites. That hardly counts as a business relationship.
Best regards,
March 16th, 2007 at 8:41 am
Come on Robert, you know better-this was preaching to the choir, nothing more. Of COURSE everyone over there bought the act.
I mean, this is a dedicated group of people who work for free for Microsoft, evangelize tirelessly for Microsoft, spam Digg defending Microsoft, and even travel great distances to hang out with others just like themselves, all for the cause of Microsoft.
The funny thing is, no one ever accuses them of being a “cult” like Apple users, yet this is a much more intensely loyal, kool aid drinking crowd than even Steve could hope for.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:05 am
@13, “When Google is serious about a product they don’t stop until they get it right. ”
Really? like Google Answers? like Google Video? Gmail outages last month? Google apps for your domain going down last month?
as somebody noted above, Google has a great perception advantage now. So whatever they do will look like a winning move.
No doubt google has a bigger pie in serach market. But that doesn’t mean its behind google.
It’s not a good idea to calibrate the capabilities of search engines using a single search phrase. Consider this - search for ‘Robert’ in both live and google
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=robert
http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=robert
Google’s first link is scobleizer. While scoble is a great blogger, there is no way people are looking for him when they type in ‘Robert’ in the search box.
Live shows wikipedia entry on the firstname ‘Robert’ which is perfectly reasonable. So do we conclude that live is better?
Business is not a 100 mtr sprint. Being first doesn’t mean that there is NOBODY before you. The winner is one who can do more things better than any other guy. Sure, someone can do a specific thing better than the winner. But that doesn’t mean the winner is losing.
Blogs are replacing the old media. Exactly. Sensation now matters more than substance. Unfortunately Microsoft is not providing the former.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:07 am
“The funny thing is, no one ever accuses them of being a “cult” like Apple users, yet this is a much more intensely loyal, kool aid drinking crowd than even Steve could hope for.”
Becuase, MVPs don’t indulge in personal attacks in a debate.
Because MVPs don’t rationalize every word that comes out of Redmond.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:16 am
seshadri: maybe they ARE looking for me when they type Robert. PC World named me one of the most important people on the Internet. So did Forbes.
Google reflects Internet popularity.
The fact that I can rely on it for people’s names far more than Live.com means I use it a lot more.
gwhiz: you got it!
March 16th, 2007 at 9:16 am
Oh and another thing.
Why is google not seen as a failure when ‘a nobody’ launches something like a twitter? I mean, twitter is part of the *world’s information*. Shouldn’t the ’shipping’ google have come up with an application like that?
March 16th, 2007 at 9:22 am
@28, I agree to that for the world ’scoble’. No questions. But surely not robert
why doesn’t Bruce Schneier show up for a search on Bruce?
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=bruce ( he was on the list. IIRC he was about 5-10 positions behind you)
and the same for Om (malik)- http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=om
March 16th, 2007 at 9:25 am
@MSWatcher: Microsoft needs to learn to just be quiet when they aren’t doing well.
What I can see behind the scenes that most people can see is just how messed up Microsoft is internally. My friends are telling stories that would make your head spin.
That’s what makes Seshadri just a hype job. He can’t explain the incessant reorgs. The incessant killings of products by marketing. The constant leaving of smart people. The M&A where Microsoft doesn’t buy best of breed.
Yes, there are places where Microsoft is working pretty well. Xbox and anything Scott Guthrie does seem pretty good.
But the Internet space? Has Microsoft really learned and is on a good path? The evidence hasn’t been shown and stories from inside from my friends (IE, people I trust) don’t tell a good story. We’ll see.
As to business side of the Internet. Microsoft is the business computing company now. We’ll see how it goes there cause Microsoft is going to be under constant relenting attack by lots of forces, not just Google there, but Microsoft’s position is far more defensable in business than it is in the consumer space.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:27 am
seshadri: Google did have a Twitter-like thing. It’s called Dodgeball and it was around before Twitter did.
Twitter is lame software. What’s cool about it is most of my friends are on it.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:28 am
Bruce and Om?
Om is #3 on Google.
Bruce is #6 on Google.
Not too bad.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:41 am
“Because MVPs don’t rationalize every word that comes out of Redmond.”
Thats exactly what Scoble is pointing out about “We’re in it to Win”, dude. How the MVPs are rationalizing it, while everyone outside the tent is asking, wtf?
March 16th, 2007 at 9:42 am
It’s interesting how Oracle has gone pretty quiet lately. It seems the more posturing the “leaders” rant and rave about the more desperate they seem. No one wants talk, they want OSs that are fast and don’t crash. They want cross-app functionality (still can’t believe the issues I have with Outlook & Word). Like my dad says, using Windows ‘95 - “Don’t Touch my stuff! It works and every time I get an update or something it stops working and I can never figure out how to fix it so don’t touch it!”
March 16th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Sad, but I agree with you here Robert…and I’m a softie. The thing is that nobody in the trenches at MSFT believes the execu-spin either. I read Ballmer’s talk at Stanford and wanted to jump out my 2nd story window (why won’t these windows open?). And after reading it, I’m even more convinced (like I wasn’t already…yeah right) that Ballmer needs to go. He and the SLT are lost, just lost and can’t see the forest…because they’re f–king blind. They all need to go.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:53 am
“maybe they ARE looking for me when they type Robert. PC World named me one of the most important people on the Internet. So did Forbes.”
Every once in a while, the ego shines on through the rants :)
March 16th, 2007 at 9:57 am
@32, “What’s cool about it is most of my friends are on it.”
Why weren’t your friends on it? why did they choose twitter over dodgeball?
@33, “Not too bad.”
This is not what you expect from Google. Do you? You expect the best of the lot.
“That’s what makes Seshadri just a hype job”
Incorrect. Nowhere in my comments do/did i hype up MSFT. All i am saying is that a totally different scale is being applied to MSFT to callibrate it while all its competitors seem to enjoy a free ride.
@34, “How the MVPs are rationalizing ”
Where do you see this? Any links where someone has justified anything that was said in this weeks meet?
( I can’t tell you how excited i am for Google to launch its GPhone. For the first time in quite a while we will have a direct 1-to-1 between the #1 and #2 rivals of MSFT. GPhone Vs iPhone. WOW. Should be fun to see if equal scales are applied in that case)
March 16th, 2007 at 10:28 am
“It’s an exciting time for the industry, and Microsoft is going to win! Go get them Steven!”
go team! :p
March 16th, 2007 at 10:33 am
[...] With this in mind, what do you think GooglePhone will do for business users? And, is Microsoft really in it to win (via Robert Scoble)? [...]
March 16th, 2007 at 10:47 am
You are comparing one product, up against a company with a multitude of products, the comparison isn’t really level, nor fair, and they have a number of competitors across all product lines. And Google is a one-trick pony, they haven’t really been successful outside of one area, whereas Microsoft has been. Each company has their pluses and their vices. But rant at the moon, if it makes you feel better. :) Productwise, I think they are doing great, Vista and Office 2007, are wonders to behold, perhaps not all they could have been, but still great for the market. The thing killing Microsoft is not Google, it’s their own internal bitterly political warfare games.
March 16th, 2007 at 11:08 am
[...] Scoble today bashes his ex, Microsoft, for talking BS before [...]
March 16th, 2007 at 11:20 am
I don’t know what MVPs you hang out with, but the MVPs I know are not particularly fond of koolaid. Just because you work with and understand the tech doesn’t mean you are by definition an apologist.
But that doesn’t make for such sensational text, does it?
March 16th, 2007 at 11:25 am
In it to win? Seriously profound statement, and way outta left field. It is still topped by
“I GOT 4 WORDS FOR YUH: I. LOVE. [GASP WHEEZE] THIS. COMPANY.”
yeaaaah. go MS
March 16th, 2007 at 11:56 am
Mike: and you’re not egotistical? Riiiiigggghhhhhttttt.
When you gonna build a better blog service? My wife is on it and it really really sucks.
Let me worry about my ego, you worry about my wife’s blog service. It’s always so freaking slow.
March 16th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Re: “robert” being first in Google. Scoble, man, you know I like you and all, but you can’t take all this stuff so seriously that you have let yourself think that when people google “Robert” they are all looking for you??? How many people even think of you as “Robert” versus just “Scoble”?
Google results for “Robert” = 429,000,000
Google results for “Scoble” = 5,180,000
Google results for “Robert Scoble” = 1,210,000
I did a whole post recently on first names and Google results: http://www.livedigitally.com/2007/03/12/googling-first-names/
Back to the point at hand, I think you are probably right that they aren’t acting like a company who is tyring to win. That said, I do believe that they still *want* to win, much the same way Sony still *wants* to dominate the MP3 market. They just have way too many people operating with 1990s (or even 1980s) mentality to even become a contender again…
March 16th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
@45 Scoble, easy on Mike, he’s one of the good guys. I do agree with you on MSN Spaces being slow but I’m thinking WordPress.com would be crippled with a fraction of the MSN Spaces traffic.
@46 Still, 5.1 million results for Scoble is impressive, Jeremy, got to give Scoble props for that.
March 16th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
I *completely* give him props for that, and would even state that 99% (or more) of searches for “Scoble” are for him! I give him props for a lot of stuff, I just don’t agree that 99% of people who enter “Robert” as a search term (which I don’t think happens all that frequently to begin with) are looking for him, that’s all…
March 16th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
another trivia, Larry Page is not the ‘Larry’-est of em all in google - http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=larry
March 16th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
@seshadri: “Something we can all do is offer Microsoft constructive criticism…”
Why? Some of us would like to see MSFT just implode. We’d all be better seeing a convicted monopoly abuser that taxes computing the world over just go away. So I love Ballmer. I love what he’s done to the MSFT stock. I love the fact that MSFT just can’t do anything right. I love the fact that product after product they have failed pretty much in everything they’ve gone after. Love it.
“Microsoft is building some great products that we’re all going to love”
And you’re claiming you’re not a MSFT mouthpiece? Get real.
March 16th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
@50, what are you smoking? i didn’t say either of those things.
Try to match them up with the actual commenter.
March 16th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
After several years of strongly supporting Windows Mobile Microsoft still has not given me MVP just because old MVPs, who get the award for ever, are jealous of myself. So you are absolutely right that “The words are empty.”.
March 16th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
PS their MVP process is stupid. I know people who should most definitely not be representing MSFT as MVPs and others who should (and have been nominated and not chosen).
March 16th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
I was just scrolling back through your post and came up with this: that MSFT has no Pipes killer, no adWords killer, no Flash killer, no killer searchbox, no killer datacenter. Just what Ballmer might call cute efforts.
And I’m wondering if that’s fine.
Has MSFT already bet on business communications instead? I mean, I haven’t seen it yet, but I thought the Live Communications server/client is intended to be MSFTs next trick. That search is kind of a competitive reflex, but enterprise communications is supposed to be the future growth area for the company. Isn’t everything else just smoke and mirrorss? I thought that was why Jeff Raikes took the telephone job himself last spring.
I kind of interpreted Live and the internet products as they stand today as mostly misdirection - sort of a pump fake.
And I think the TellMe acquisition lines up really well with my idea.
Am I on to something?
March 16th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
“Mike: and you’re not egotistical? Riiiiigggghhhhhttttt.”
Well, I don’t know. But I don’t praise myself in my own comments every week :)
“When you gonna build a better blog service? My wife is on it and it really really sucks.”
That’s constructive. You guys have my email address, phone number, office number, and URL. The last time I received any feedback was probably almost 2 years ago.
March 16th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
[...] Robert Scoble in Microsoft tells MVPs “we’re in it to win” — Really? [...]
March 16th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Mike,
I agree with David. You are one of the good guys. I still am using spaces, but it does have a few problems. I mentioned them last August in my blog and none of the problems, to my knowledge, have been fixed.
http://maryamie.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!9592F3DEF41537A3!2002.entry
Thanks for your consideration.
Maryam
March 16th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Maryam, change your blog to WordPress. It’s the best!!!!
:)
regards,
March 16th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Thanks Maryam. I will check it out.
March 16th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
Thanks Mike! Really the commenting system is the one that makes my readers upset.
Nelson,
I like WordPress and I like Matt, but spaces feels like home. I am hoping with time they will improve. It’s hard to move!
March 16th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
“maybe they ARE looking for me when they type Robert. PC World named me one of the most important people on the Internet. So did Forbes.”
You’ve gotta be kidding me! Seriously, you’re saying that when people serch for “Robert” on Google, they’re not looking for Robert DeNiro or Robert Redford, but for Robert Scoble? Aren’t you giving yourself a little too much importance? That’s probably one of the reasons you like Google so much - because of the importance they give you. Wow! :-)
Also, I don’t know Mike personally but he comes across as a nice person in his blog.
March 16th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Mike: ‘“When you gonna build a better blog service? My wife is on it and it really really sucks.”
That’s constructive. You guys have my email address, phone number, office number, and URL. The last time I received any feedback was probably almost 2 years ago.’
You mean you can’t tell that it’s slow? Are you bypassing something that everyone else outside of Microsoft sees?
March 16th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
On second thoughts, maybe you are the most popular “Robert” of them all!
March 16th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Maryam,
You’re a doll, but your husband needs help. Soon all sorts of Softietards will be calling him with advice to apologize to Ballmer & Co. Don’t let him do it. I’m told he might be prone to doing so. He doesn’t have to go back to Redmond for another tour of duty. The world is seeing the salesguy for what he is. He’s asleep at the wheel; let him be. Much love.
March 16th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Diego: Ultimately, just like any site, the more content you have on your page(s) the slower the page will load. We do take performance very seriously and are making gains every release - we’ve improved quite a bit recently.
Maryam: We’re working on commenting!
One thing to point out though: comparing WordPress to Spaces is like comparing Twitter to IM or Facebook to Flickr. They are just different tools with different goals for a different audience. Not everyone strives to be the #1 Robert or to get their service mentioned in Mashable on Tuesdays.
March 16th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
@Mike - I’m still rooting for just giving domain control features to MSN Spaces users so that people like Maryam, myself and others could have our own domain names instead of a live.whatever.whatever/name/ space or whatever flavor the domain structure changes. I think since launch it’s changed what, four times?
Hopefully speed and increased flexibility are on the map as high priorities for the team.
March 16th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Eh, who really wants Microsoft to win? I mean, they already control the desktop and the office suite. I’d rather not have my only option for everything to be Microsoft.
March 16th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
I know TDavid, I want it too (I have my domain ready to go) but there are some pretty complex scaling and authentication issues to get over first before it’s possible. Part of the “problem” with a big service. If we only had 10,000 or 100,000 or even 1 mil users, we could do it tomorrow.
March 16th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
[...] Microsoft tells MVPs “we’re in it to win” — Really? Look at my last post. Now read this one over on LiveSide. It’s a short report that Microsoft executives are […] [...]
March 16th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Microsoft has two problems really. 1. They don’t develop, they takeover/buy (although Google seems to be heading in that direction). 2. When they do develop, they do it for the lowest common denominator (Reminds me of AOL).
Its all about the bottom dollar and not innovation for them. If it’s not pre-installed it doesn’t do well. Give anyone a choice and 9/10 times they will use a competitors product.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Mike: why would we continue giving feedback when you don’t listen to what we told you years ago?
1) Make it faster.
2) Make it so our friends can comment without signing in (anonymous jerks are a big part of commenting).
3) Make it faster.
4) Make it so we can customize the look and feel.
5) Make it so we can add lots of cool gadgets easily.
6) Make it faster.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
#47: There are TONS of good guys at Microsoft. They just aren’t focused on me as a customer. Rather they want to “win.” WTF?
Big companies win by listening.
Microsoft doesn’t demonstrate listening behavior very often.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
“Big companies win by listening.
Microsoft doesn’t demonstrate listening behavior very often.”
And obviously, any big company that doesn’t demonstrate listening behavior does not win because it does not come up with cool products, right?
So, your position is: Microsoft doesn’t make any cool products… errr… no, wait… they do make cool products…. no, they don’t…
March 16th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
“Big companies win by listening”
very true. Do you have any examples?
(My examples : Google -big, not listening; Apple - big, not listening)
March 16th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
You can install thousands of gadgets including custom HTML (so technically unlimited) already. There are tons of cool ones in Live Gallery. And if you see one you like on someone’s space, you can add it to your own.
And we HAVE made it faster. If something is still running slower than you’d like, you might want to remove some stuff (like gadgets). You can’t load your page up with a bunch of Ajax goodness and expect it to load as fast as Google search results of course.
Anonymous comments is something we all want.
Customization has also gotten a LOT more flexible (more layouts, more themes, more color and transparency options, more custom HTML options) and we have even more coming that will allow people to make the page look completely unique without having to deal with HTML.
I can take you through it so you are up to speed on everything.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
I agree with you, Robert. MS isn’t going anywhere. They make a product that is just “good enough”. They have 95% of the desktop market, so technically, since they have achieved vendor lock-in, good enough is all they have to do.
They throw a few bones to the masses now and again, like Vista. Vista is more or less XP with a few new things, but a lot of eye candy. I’m not even going there.
I’m rarely a tech front liner. In other words, I’m not a hardware/software guinea pig. I wait for others to blow their money and let the bugs get worked out first.
MS is along for the ride, that’s it. They don’t deliver anything that I can’t do without. Nothing.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
@74:
“My examples : Google -big, not listening; Apple - big, not listening”
They don’t need to. The media (including bloggers) loves what they do. They may be big but as far as the media is concerned, they’re still underdogs in the fight against Microsoft.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
@77,
I agree.
That’s why i can’t wait for iPhone Vs GPhone
March 16th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
@seshadri: “Do you have any examples?”
Sure, Microsoft.
MSFT listened to companies that want better search.
MSFT went back to the labs to see if it can out-innovate Google.
MSFT realized it couldn’t. So it unleashed Ballmer to go bark at Google.
And, as it always does, MSFT decided to PAY companies to use its (otherwise) unpopular products:
http://news.com.com/2061-10803_3-6168028.html
March 16th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
@77,
what about Linux? Linux seems to be the underdog in its own circles, but no one else seems to care about getting out from under MS.
March 16th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
“Google writes its own hard disk drivers.”
Microsoft writes its own entire OPERATING SYSTEM. It writes drivers!
Anyway I think you are confusing GoogleFS (filesystem) with HD drivers. Their boxes probably max out on RAM — HD search is just too slow, so it’s probably not even a factor here.
March 16th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
@79, what about Google paying Dell to have its toolbar installed on every computer sold? Also, what about this: http://www.spreadfirefox.com/node/24451 ?
I’m going to restate Scoble’s comment: “Companies survive by listening.” No company that doesn’t listen to its customers can survive for as long as Microsoft has.
@80:
“what about Linux? Linux seems to be the underdog in its own circles, but no one else seems to care about getting out from under MS.”
Realistically speaking, Apple and Google have a better chance of beating Microsoft.
“They don’t deliver anything that I can’t do without. Nothing.”
I can say the same about Apple or Google too. I really can do without Google search or the iPod. In fact, I don’t think I can do without Excel or Outlook.
March 16th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
@77,
in the Pre-google era, Linux was the mascot of anything anti-MSFT. (Redhat was supposed kicking MSFT’s ass in the desktops)
@79 - I think that’s a good move.
Why?
LIVE search is certainly not inferior to Google/yahoo/. But it is suffering from not having acceptability and lack of intertia. (and some branding confusion too). So this will help overcome those issues.
March 16th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
[...] Scoble bites the hand that used to feed him. 16 03 2007 Robert Scoble wrote a scathing entry in his attacking Microsoft’s focus (or lack of) in its “we’re in it to win” [...]
March 16th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
@82,
I use Linux exclusively. No Outlook, no Excel. OpenOffice has served me well for years now with no hitches on either end.
You (metaphorically speaking) are only trapped by MS if you choose to remain trapped. See, that’s the rub. People care too much about compatibility with their friends. Ever heard of plain text? What about RTF? What about pushing, encouraging, and ACTUALLY using open standards instead of complaining about MS?
I left MS products a long time ago with zero ill effects. You, too, can do this.
March 16th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
“I think that’s a good move.”
Of course, it is.
IF all you’re interested in is to “win.”
But then don’t be surprised if MSFT is despised and not trusted.
Who needs to listen to customers when you can literally bribe them into using your products?
March 16th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
@86 - this is an accepted practice in the tech world. google bundles its toolbar with acrobat reader install. Not just in software, every industry bundles deals as part of promotions.
Particularly in this case, its not an inferior product. All the negative perception apart, Live search is atleast on par with google.
BTW,How do you connect this with ‘trust’?
March 16th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
@ seshadri: “this is an accepted practice in the tech world.”
Boggles the mind. Lots of thigs are “accepted practice” out there; does that make them good?
If a company’s natural reaction to adversity is to “win” by bribing, then you have MSFT exactly where it belongs: unable to invent or innovate, it bullies or bribes.
March 16th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Got to tip your hat to Microsoft in the console gaming sector, Robert. The Xbox 360 is rocking and they managed to create the best online console gaming out there (Xbox Live) against the odds. Sony has an interesting idea with Home if they get enough people to pay too much for a PS3, or lower the price to be competitive, but right now it looks more like Nintendo could be the threat going forward.
*looks like*?
Dude, the Xbox can’t even outsell the PS2, meanwhile the Wii is kicking EVERYONE’s ass. The *Wii* is rocking, the Xbox is wobbling.
Mike: and you’re not egotistical? Riiiiigggghhhhhttttt.
When you gonna build a better blog service? My wife is on it and it really really sucks.
Let me worry about my ego, you worry about my wife’s blog service. It’s always so freaking slow.
Dear god, what is up with the new login for spaces. Could it suck any MORE? I don’t see how.
“Big companies win by listening”
very true. Do you have any examples?
(My examples : Google -big, not listening; Apple - big, not listening)
Funny how Apple “doesn’t listen”, but they keep coming out with stuff that people love. Maybe there’s more ways of listening besides blogs…oh wait, how silly of me…blogs are the only things that count. Observation and all the rest are crap, right? Only blogs matter. Microsoft has hundreds of blogs, and look how well they’re doing…um…oops.
Realistically speaking, Apple and Google have a better chance of beating Microsoft.
“beating the other guy” is the wrong focus. It puts you into a reactive posture. Just like Microsoft. They only care about beating the competition, so everything they do is derived from that.
Apple and Google are servicing their customers, and doing the things they do best. They have a small number of things they do, they do them really well, and trust in their customers to recognize that. They ship regularly, and don’t bullshit their customers the way Microsoft does, like with that entire Port25 marketing spew.
That’s why they’re doing well. And why Microsoft isn’t.
March 16th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
@85:
“I left MS products a long time ago with zero ill effects. You, too, can do this.”
I agree. I could start using Gnumeric instead of Excel. But I can live without Google too, or even Apple.
@88:
“If a company’s natural reaction to adversity is to “win” by bribing, then you have MSFT exactly where it belongs: unable to invent or innovate, it bullies or bribes.”
So, it’s okay for Google to pay Dell to have its toolbar installed on every PC sold? It’s okay for Google to pay AdSense publishers $1 for referring Firefox with Google toolbar?
@90:
” The *Wii* is rocking, the Xbox is wobbling.”
Yes, the Wii is rocking. Is the XBox really wobbling? Whatever makes you happy.
“That’s why they’re doing well. And why Microsoft isn’t.”
So, Microsoft isn’t doing well? Hmm. Again, whatever makes you happy!
March 16th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
“That’s why they’re doing well. And why Microsoft isn’t”
All bashing aside, its not like MSFT is in red. It still has double digit growth. If - this is a forecast - i would love to see how many of the nay sayers actually go short on MSFT. The market does let you bet both ways.
Apple can gain 1% marketshare and be called ‘doing well’, but XBOX 360 is a failure even when it is gaining marketshare and is #2? (Yeah yeah PS2 kicks 360 in the rear. unfortnately theres some friendly fire going on with PS3 as well)
March 16th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
IBM was making lots of profit, even when it was doing really poorly.
The fact is, No one cares about Vista, Office 2007 is a non-issue for at least a year, and the Xbox 360 can’t outsell a five year old game system, and is getting its ass beat by everything BUT the PS3.
Microsoft didn’t build the Xbox 360 to do anything but beat the PS3. In that, it succeeded. Nintendo ignored both of them, and built a game system that was damned near instantly usable by anyone with enough coordination to hold a stick, and made playing games fun OUTSIDE of the game.
That’s the difference. Nintendo decided on a goal that wasn’t dependent on the competition, Microsoft was all about being better than Sony.
And no, the Xbox 360 is not #2.
It’s number *Three*.
the Wii is #1, the PS2 is #2.
Xbox? #3.
Your own myopia here is a perfect example of Microsoft’s.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
“Your own myopia here is a perfect example of Microsoft’s.”
Pot, meet kettle.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
“No one cares about Vista”
How do you know? you’ve spoken to ALL? Look at this - http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=229
so, Having the latest OS release labelled as a non-starter is not something new for MSFT. But hey, may be even Ed Bott is myopic and thats symbolic of the problem with MSFT?
March 16th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
“IBM was making lots of profit, even when it was doing really poorly.”
Not exactly, as IBM lost billions of dollars in the early 90’s. Microsoft anywhere near that point.
March 16th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
“Anonymous comments is something we all want.”
Yes! Why is it that Spaces requires someone to have an account on there? That is extremelly lame. As Scoble says, anonymous jerks are a big part of comments. Maybe requiring an account is just a way of trying to force people in to the Microsoft camp? Doesn’t make sense I know. All it does is annoy people. I know that when I’m on Digg, or some other place, and I land on a Spaces blog I just close the browser tab. I don’t want to be part of the conversation if you’re forcing me to signup.
March 16th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
>seshadri: Particularly in this case, its not an inferior product. All the negative perception apart, Live search is atleast on par with google.
You just lost any credibility you might have had here.
I’ve done tons of searches and Live is behind — often way behind — in almost any search I do (except for the aformentioned “Robert”).
March 16th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
>Seshadri: Do you have any examples?
(My examples : Google -big, not listening; Apple - big, not listening)
Hah! Google has a news reader. We asked for that. Where’s Microsoft’s? Google has blog search engine. Where’s Microsoft’s? Apple has a podcasting client. Where’s Microsoft’s? Apple puts blogging on its signs in its stores. Where’s Microsoft’s?
March 17th, 2007 at 12:48 am
Can someone tell me one more success that Google has under its belt besides Search …. mmmm … mmmm …. mmmm … mmmm …
March 17th, 2007 at 12:59 am
Murali: it’s mapping service has most of the mashups on the Web using it. Google Reader is #1 according to most stats. And its big success? It isn’t search.
March 17th, 2007 at 1:00 am
Robert, in post 97, you mention “I’ve done tons of searches and Live is behind — often way behind — in almost any search I do (except for the aformentioned “Robert”).”
Yet, not too long ago, you mentioned, “Damn, I saw some people talking about how much better Microsoft’s Live Search was and I just tried a few searches and, indeed, it’s a lot better than it used to be. They’ve significantly closed the gap with Google.
How does it do on your favorite searches? I even picked out a random Windows API call and did a search on that. MSN used to always suck on those. But Live.com gets it right.
It’s also fast and the UI is nice. I think it matches Google all the way around on search.”
Taken from: http://scobleizer.com/2006/10/12/microsofts-search-a-lot-better-than-it-used-to-be/
I’m sure I and your other readers would be curious to know what exactly changed between the Live Search of then compared to the Live Search of today.
Cheers!
Kirupa
March 17th, 2007 at 1:14 am
Kirupa: go back and read my earlier articles: I said that Live.com had closed the gap.
Now, go back and try the searches again. The gap hasn’t narrowed and, in some cases, Google has pulled way ahead again (look at yesterday’s “notary” search for an example).
March 17th, 2007 at 1:36 am
@ John C. Welch - you wrote: “Dude, the Xbox can’t even outsell the PS2, meanwhile the Wii is kicking EVERYONE’s ass. The *Wii* is rocking, the Xbox is wobbling.”
Come on, John, facts are facts. We all know the Wii is having a great launch period and outselling the Xbox 360 and PS3 at the moment. Now go look up the numbers on online gaming penetration. Go look who just passed the six million member mark.
Not Sony. Not Nintendo. Forgetting about the online gaming sector?
As someone who owns all three systems (do you, John?) I can tell you that the major weakness for Nintendo Wii and the PS3 is their online strategy and current implementation. The Wii is overcharging for games we already have with little to no enhancement.
The Wii is a gimmick (Twitter, anyone?) — a fun one for the entire family, yes, which explains why it’s so popular at the moment — but still a gimmick. Enough of a gimmick and priced right so that Nintendo can pick up lost ground over the Gamecube. The whole Mii thing is intriguing but poorly executed at the moment. There’s plenty of time for Nintendo to improve upon this and become a serious #1 threat in the coming days, but they have a long ways to go and a lot more Wiis to sell. Their system doesn’t even double as a DVD player yet, nor does it talk to your machine for playing music. Online gaming with your friends? Rest my case.
The PS2 has sold very well, absolutely yes, but you don’t know that much about the console gaming market John if you don’t realize how cyclical the market is and just how many people are pissed at Sony. Not just customers, but partners and developers too.
Check what Sony’s Phil Harrison had to say about GTA being lost as an exclusive title because the PS3 audience wasn’t big enough. If the PS2 was doing so well, then why couldn’t Sony secure the next GTA as exclusive for the PS2?
Answer: PS2 is yesterday.
Sony can only live on yesterday so long. Their arrogance got the best of them when they believed that they could shove another largely unnecessary proprietary format down customer’s throats (Blu-Ray) just because they are Sony.
Don’t get me wrong, that’s Microsoft’s biggest problem too. They are living on yesterday on a lot of things.
They pissed off developers when they went to .NET from VB6, they irritated customers with their whole legacy program which forces upgrades prematurely.
But a bright star in M$ stable — different from most other departments and teams there — is the Xbox Live platform.
They have actually innovated and done something very, very well.
Does the Wii or PS2 sell/rent TV/Movies? Xbox Live does and in fact if you look beyond the microcosm that is Scoble’s comment area, the facts show it’s been *THE* most successful at selling and renting TVs/Movies.
Nintendo up until the Wii pretty much scoffed at the idea of gaming online.
Xbox Live is Microsoft’s trojan horse. Apple, Google, Sony, they’d love to have such a juicy piece of the online gaming action. Apple is trying to get into games, in fact and doing a miserable job so far. Ever try playing any sort of game on your iPod?
I’ll be among the first to criticize Microsoft for their many failings — and live search has definitely been a dud so far — but they have to be given credit for Xbox Live. It’s better than anybody else out there. To claim otherwise is misguided and misinformed.
March 17th, 2007 at 2:08 am
“we’re in it to win” — Really?
Message to Seattle:
This is way too cute. It echoes our theme song “We’re All In This Together”. We are going to launch a live performance at our celebration party.
I can tell Microsoft is up to something good lately with their buyings and pieces. I can see Microsoft is moving strategically to capture the Future.
Shipping alone can’t be used as success measurement. I just hope the big ship can safely make the turn in a fast moving ocean current.
I will leave some Genie Potion #9 at upcoming.org to wax the crystal ball for a company attempting to use technology to save lives.
Echo from Silicon Valley
March 17th, 2007 at 2:17 am
Mike! I Told’Ya, Didn’t I!!!
Huh? …Didn’t I!!!
Now, STOP Posting Here, Get Back Over To “Spaces” & Get The D@MN Thing RUNNING RIGHT!!!
Soapbox TOO!!!
NOW GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
March 17th, 2007 at 2:20 am
Never put a marketing person in charge of a technology company. MS’s CEO (Ballimer) doesn’t grok technology, not even a little.
March 17th, 2007 at 6:39 am
Pretty Interesting Article…:)
March 17th, 2007 at 7:34 am
You might heed your own advice Scoble. I can recall many times you hyping Microsoft stuff before it was shipped. Including search. This post makes me wonder how much of your previous posts were marketing bulls**t and how much was real. And how much I can trust your opinion going forward…
March 17th, 2007 at 7:38 am
“Hah! Google has a news reader. We asked for that. Where’s Microsoft’s? Google has blog search engine. Where’s Microsoft’s? Apple has a podcasting client. Where’s Microsoft’s? Apple puts blogging on its signs in its stores. Where’s Microsoft’s?”
You can’t give a single example to prove that a company always listens to its customers. A single counter-example is enough to disprove your claim - it doesn’t work the other way around. In any case, you want to know where Microsoft listened to its customers? Everyone wanted Windows to be more secure. Vista and XP are arguably more secure than their predecessors: http://www.twit.tv/sn83
So, there, I’ve given one example of where Microsoft listened to its customers. I can give several more. What exactly was your point again?
March 17th, 2007 at 7:58 am
Does your opinion of Microsoft vary depending on which side of the bed you get up on, Scoble?
“You just lost any credibility you might have had here.”
And you, with all your flip-flops, somehow still manage to hang on to it. Wow!
March 17th, 2007 at 9:27 am
@102 Robert, you have to give specific examples of search phrases for which Live is inferior.(though random examples don’t qualify the engine totally.)
I’ll say again, Live’s performance against Google is atleast equal. Anyway it’s not possible to directly calibrate the ‘quality’ of search engines. This has to be a subjective call based on usage. My assertion is based on a 6 month experience when i used Live and Google side by side. Yes - side by side, every search would be brought up in both. There is virtually no differnce between both NOW.
(if i just wanted to hype up something MSFT without conviction, live is the last thing i would have chosen. As this is one MSFT service that has been so heavily invested in and lagging far behind in terms of numbers)
reg listening - I have been in the frontline dealing with support calls for some of the developer products until recently. I can vouch for the amount of listening that was done and the amount of feedback that was propagated trhough the layers on to the next version.
March 17th, 2007 at 9:35 am
Hey and one more thing. I don’t see any of you telling Matt Cutts(a great guy - no offence to him) to go fix Orkut or make Blogger a better platform than wordpress. Since they listen you might get this done very easily.
How many of you are willing to bet you can get Steve Jobs to put a keyboard on iPhone and make it non-exclusive with cingular? After all he would listen…
March 17th, 2007 at 10:09 am
Shravan,
Is it not fact that the Xbox finished third in February sales? In fact, it finished fourth if you include portable sales.
The supply problems Microsoft had during the 360’s first christmas has really ruined any hope the 360 had of being number one.
Let’s try and stick to the facts.
And by the way, Apple absolutely listens - just not through blogs.
March 17th, 2007 at 10:24 am
#111: I gave you a very specific example just on Thursday.
#112: Blogger is a better blogging service than Live.com and has been improved lately. Agree with you about Orkut. As for iPhone: somethings are impossible.
#113: Apple reads blogs religiously. They just aren’t able to talk back through them. They use blogs and podcasts and video blogs in their advertising and signage in their stores (and are really the only big company I’ve seen do that).
March 17th, 2007 at 10:37 am
@114, I gave back one example that shows otherwise. So these could be considered an exception
Again, i wouldn’t decide based on even a 100 individual cases. It should be based on a subjective experience over a reasonable amount of time. In early - mid 2006 i would get good live results less than 30% of the time. Now i get correct results 100% (I don;t use side-by-side search anymore. It’s throuh the address bar.Here’s my methodology - search in live, if i don’t get what i am looking for then fallback on google. But off late if i don’t something in Live, i don’t get that in google also)
Note that i am talking about live.com website search only. Not local VS maps;
(If possible, i even urge people to do the same. Use live for sometime. The moment you find things are crappy go back to google.)
March 17th, 2007 at 10:48 am
Scoble, have you ever stopped to think that you may not be Live Spaces’ (and not Live,com) intended target audience? Google Reader may be the most popular blog reader but how many people actually use blog readers? Again, regarding podcasting, a very small percentage of computer and mp3 player owners listen to podcasts. Microsoft listens to its customers but they may not always listen to you.
March 17th, 2007 at 10:51 am
“Is it not fact that the Xbox finished third in February sales? In fact, it finished fourth if you include portable sales.”
Well, if you are going to include gaming devices, why don’t you include PCs in your equation. In that case, XBox will probably be nowhere in the top 10. I think its too early to write off the XBox.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Shravan: you’re right. I’m not. But my wife is in their target market. And I watch her suffer with it.
A lot of people use feed readers. (They don’t just read blogs — the front page of the BBC has RSS all over it).
March 17th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Seshadri: search is a lot more than just the correct results. It’s formatting. It’s the advertising choices. It’s whether you include maps and charts.
If Live.com has passed Google (hint: it hasn’t) its market share would be going up (hint: it’s not).
Why? Cause people aren’t stupid. They can see when the results are better on one service or another.
I can tell you work at Microsoft cause you’re the only one sticking up for Live.com.
If Microsoft actually had a great service there would be more than Microsofties sticking up for it.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:19 am
@98 “Hah! Google has a news reader. We asked for that. Where’s Microsoft’s? Google has blog search engine. Where’s Microsoft’s? Apple has a podcasting client. Where’s Microsoft’s? Apple puts blogging on its signs in its stores. Where’s Microsoft’s?”
“We”? We who? Please be specific. How many people amongst the broad population Microsoft sells to asked for a news reader, a blog search engine, a podcasting client? Who outside of your own myopic sheltered SV world asked for these things? On top of that, how much revenue are these doodads adding to Google’s bottom line? Ever stopped to think that there’s not enough money on the table for Microsoft to really care about those things? Ever stopped to think there might be a WHOLE DIFFERENT AUDIENCE that Microsoft is listening to other than your small world?
March 17th, 2007 at 11:23 am
LayZ: let’s see, in the past two months I’ve spoken to audiences in Germany, Switzerland, Phoenix, Utah, Austin, and in Silicon Valley and at all the audiences more than 60% say they use RSS feed readers. This is going mainstream. Or did you miss the RSS feeds on the BBC home page? Yeah, that’s really Silicon Valley.
You sound like a Microsoft employee. I know you work for another large company that actually does a lot less for the world than Microsoft does. Now I understand why.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:24 am
Every Apple store I’ve been in (even overseas) uses blogging and podcasting in its signage — I guess they are only listening to the Silicon Valley weirdos, right? Yeah…
Shows how clueless you are about how big these things really are.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:35 am
“If Live.com has passed Google (hint: it hasn’t) its market share would be going up (hint: it’s not).”
try telling this to John C Welch; if mac was better than windows then its market share would be going up. (It’s been 12 years since Win95)
This is the major problem with all anti MSFT views. You choose different yardsticks depending on the situation. Windows’ marketshare doesnt mean squat about its success while live’s lack of market share means its inferior. Grossly unfair.
Live suffers from some branding confusion, lacklstre initial performance and being a late entrant to the market.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:39 am
Seshadri: Apple’s market share HAS been going up in the past two years. It IS better according to the market. Especially for consumers.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Scoble, do you really believe that a company like Microsoft could have survived for so long without listening to its consumers?
March 17th, 2007 at 11:41 am
#123: Live.com suffers from a lot more than all of that. The service sucks when compared to Google. It hasn’t demonstratably passed Google in any search I’ve done yet.
Cloning is NOT going to be an effective business model on the Internet. Why? This is akin to the music industry more than it was to other things.
Try to clone the Beattles and see if you get anywhere close to the economic success that band had.
Yet Microsoft’s entire strategy is “clone, clone, clone.”
Oh, sorry, “win, win, win.”
Yeah, right.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:42 am
@126: “Yet Microsoft’s entire strategy is “clone, clone, clone.””
A few days ago you said Microsoft was doing a lot of cool stuff. What exactly has changed since then?
March 17th, 2007 at 11:55 am
@126, the internet is proving to be too fast and dynamic to even guess what is a winning strategy and what is not. So i am not going to debate if cloning will win or not.
(comparing to Beattles is totally out of place here. Music is about content and internet is distribution)
March 17th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I think one of the best things Microsoft could ever do is to get rid of Steve Ballmer and put some new, younger, more energetic blood in the executive suite. The landscape of business is shifting away from Microsoft’s core way of doing things and moving more and more to the Internet. I don’t think Microsoft’s old guard is capable of executing that shift within the company and that is why they will continue their downward spiral into irrelevance. They might be winning on the desktop but they are losing mind share and the hearts of developers.
Why is Google kicking Microsoft’s collective ass? Simple: the spirit of entrepreneur-ism is alive and well at Google. Yes, they’re a mega-corporation but they encourage and nurture the entrepreneurial spirit in each and every one of their people. Everyone feels like Google is *their* company and that they are a vital part of its success. Microsoft, while it preaches the “win win win” attitude, still fosters a very “corporate drone” type of mindset. That doesn’t work in the new web enabled world.
It’s for the reasons above that I believe that Microsoft will eventually fall - not to Google - but to the thousands of smaller, more agile, start ups run by passionate people who really ARE “in it to win”.
March 17th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
#127: this is the problem. Microsoft is actually something like 100 companies lashed together. The Xbox team might be doing something cool while the Internet team is totally sucking wind.
In this context we’re talking about the Internet team.
Oh, and cool?
How about Photosynth? http://scobleizer.com/2006/11/10/demo-of-the-year-photosynth/
That’s cool. But it can’t be turned into a product.
Why? Cause it takes nine hours to stitch together a few hundred photos. Unusable.
So, very cool, but not a business.
Most of what we’re talking about above is about being BOTH cool and a great business ON THE INTERNET.
Microsoft is lacking on both areas.
And the comparison to the Beattles is NOT out of place here. Demonstrates that you take a Microsoft approach here.
March 17th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Anthony: what you just said is profound. Deeply profound.
Microsofties won’t understand why. But you nailed it in a way I couldn’t.
Thank you.
March 17th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
I seem to have missed something…What kind of hosting service are Amazon offering?
March 17th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
#110: Does your opinion of Microsoft vary depending on which side of the bed you get up on, Scoble?
No, it depends what part of Microsoft we’re talking about.
And, don’t your opinions change based on new information?
Ever since I’ve left a lot of the smartest people I knew at Microsoft have left too. And the folks who ARE left tell me of massive disarray and lack of leadership. Lack of willingness to really do the right things.
Has anything shipped lately from Microsoft that caught your attention (again, in context, in Internet space?)