Microsoft sucks major ass at using the press and at social media. As a result they are getting slaughtered on all fronts due to lack of public awareness.
The Microsoft developer conference, Tech·ED, has come and gone and I’m sure most of you weren’t even aware that it was underway.
On Twitter, Facebook and most of the top news blogs, it was completely overshadowed and drowned out by the Apple WWDC conference.
Some will say that Tech·ED lost out because Apple held WWDC on the same day and hijacked the event. I agree, but the fault is not Apples, it’s Microsofts.
They could have rescheduled, or waited until after the WWDC was announced to announce their date. They’re are many things they could have done to steal Apples thunder, but, even with Steve Job’s iPhone 4 done falling to pieces, Apple stole the day.
Where were the relentless mind washing evangelists? Where were the press hordes?
Prior to the event, where were the press releases and teasers of information spreading through the blogosphere like herpes at a gang bang?
Where were the people doing what Scoble used to do for Microsoft? Where were the podcasters, the speculation and bloggers?
Where was the beating drum of the Microsoft press machine?
Steven and I talked about this briefly on IM this morning and I’m sure he won’t mind me posting a part of it here -
(12:06:10) Steven Hodson:
microsoft has to change its release cycle of products .. it’s getting slaughtered press wise because of their archaic monolithic and bloated software release cycle
(12:11:08) Paul O’Flaherty:
Yep – they need to be nimble – which isn’t going to happen on that scale
(12:13:18) Paul O’Flaherty:
Lack of press control is seeing MS get slaughtered due to lack of public awareness
(12:13:32) Steven Hodson:
yup
(12:14:35) Paul O’Flaherty:
Do they need to reorganize to address that, or just reorganize their press teams
(12:15:44) Steven Hodson:
they need to re-org I think .. personally I’d get rid of the press teams they already have or move them into a Corporate Press Division .. comsumer press is totally different
(12:16:48) Paul O’Flaherty:
Yep – BTW – who is Microsofts social media evangelist these days – who now does what Scoble did?
(12:17:00) Steven Hodson:
no-one
(12:17:48) Steven Hodson:
they don’t have any consumer facing person at all as far as I know
(12:18:09) Paul O’Flaherty:
And if they do – then that person is doing a piss poor job because we don’t know who
(12:18:17) Steven Hodson:
yup
I found it strange that neither of us knew who was attempting to fill Scobles shoes these days, so I decided to hit Google up and find out, but before I did, I asked this of my 1800+ twitter followers:
Dear twitter – off the top of your head – please name me two (on the payroll) Microsoft evangelists (no Googling please)?
Seriously, that’s the best twitter could come up with?
Google wasn’t much more helpful:
Apparently there are many Microsoft evangelists. It’s a shame that Steven and I don’t know them.
The one evangelist that actually has a site of his own and gets a search result, Jeff Sandquist, well, maybe Microsoft should ask for their money back on that one. He hasn’t even updated his blog since January 8th.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem with Jeff. I just didn’t really know who he is or much about him and up until I wrote this post, I couldn’t even have told you he worked for Microsoft.
Where is Microsofts new Scoble? Where is the person filling his shoes? Where is the evangelist that people equate unequivocally with Microsoft?
Where is the person that we expect to see at conferences, championing Microsofts cause, spreading the word and telling the world how they were drawn to tears by the next big thing to come out of Redmond?
Steven may be right that Microsoft need to re-organize it’s press division and rethink how it approaches consumer press, but I believer that it’s far more crucial they fill the social media vacum that has been present since Scoble left for other pastures.
As long as Microsoft is missing a face, presence and voice that the web crowd can get behind and associate with, all the press releases in the world won’t matter a jot. You can announce wonderful things until you are blue in the face, but if nobody is there to listen…
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