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Microsoft's Vista Blogger Quits
Posted by
Zonk
on Wed Apr 02, 2008 03:21 PM
from the community-and-communication dept.
from the community-and-communication dept.
Preedit writes "Nick White, the in-house Microsoft blogger who wrote about all things Vista, has resigned.
White is leaving Redmond to join the blog-centric marketing and public relations firm BuzzCorps.
White did not provide a reason for his decision. InformationWeek, however, notes that his position could not have been easy. White's posts often elicited hundreds of responses from Vista users complaining about the OS's numerous glitches and quirks.
The story further notes that White is the sort of young, blogosphere-savvy manager that Microsoft needs if it hopes to outrun Google, and his departure raises questions about the company's ability to retain Web 2.0 talent."
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Hyperbole (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Hyperbole (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:Hyperbole (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:Hyperbole (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Hyperbole (Score:5, Interesting)
FTFA:
Joanne Bradford, who was chief media officer for the company's MSN Media Network, resigned last month to join advertising startup Spot Runner. Bradford had also previously served as Microsoft's VP for sales and marketing and as chief media revenue officer.
In 2008, however, it's hot Web 2.0 startups like Flickr and MySpace that can offer those kinds of perks and incentives.
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Marketing and PR are the core business for MS. Well engineered products can be bought, the PR machine must be internal.
Re:Hyperbole (Score:5, Insightful)
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Stupid Internet Terms (Score:3, Funny)
I assume you're disqualifying "Blogosphere" because it's derived from "Blog".
Re: (Score:2, Redundant)
Re:Hyperbole (Score:5, Funny)
I disagree. Microsoft have gotten so incompetent lately that they'd probably miss and shoot off an arm instead. While failing at failing might seem like a double negative, they seem to do it on such an unprecedented level that its more like 5 levels of failing. Maybe thats why Bill Gates ran off when he did.
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Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Perhaps MS employees should take up flying. You just fall and miss the ground.
Re:Hyperbole (Score:5, Funny)
Pink is the new White.
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They're also producing excellent products, such as Visual Studio (including C# and ASP.NET), SQL Server 2005 and Windows XP. Whether or not they employ someone who's into the time-wasting scene that is blogging is neither here nor there. Were that to be true then any number of klutz with a Geocities account would have wiped out Microsoft years ago.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I am sure they have tons of talent still, and there are lots of interesting jobs in and outside of Microsoft.
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No reason given? (Score:5, Insightful)
Man finds new job, quits old one. News at 11.
Re:No reason given? (Score:5, Insightful)
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"Web 2.0 talent" = Oxymoron? (Score:4, Insightful)
C'mon - when was the last time writing anything that popped into your mind considered a "talent". Blogs...yeesh. I still can't figure out who has the time to read those things.
Re:"Web 2.0 talent" = Oxymoron? (Score:5, Funny)
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A perfect example is my website. I write about things that pop into my mind, however due to the nature of the website many people share the experiences of what I write about. Just yesterday someone from Slashdot began commenting on my blog and in my forums, stating his reason being that he is dealing with many of the things that I t
No kidding (Score:2)
For example something that has happened to me a number of times: I'm trying to accomplish something with new software, or find information on it or something like that. I do a search, first result is something talking about what I want. Great, I follow the steps. No
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
No, it's just fashionable to sneer at blogs here on
It think it's the same group who claims they don't watch TV either. We can sneer right back at them for being elitist snobs, but we don't really care about that, we just wish they'd shut the fuck up. We heard 'em the first time.
What would be of more interest (and relevance)... (Score:2)
White did not provide a reason for his decision. InformationWeek, however, notes that his position could not have been easy. White's posts often elicited hundreds of responses from Vista users complaining about the OS's numerous glitches and quirks.
What would shed more light on this is whether White had access to technical staff who could provide behind the scenes information and support when responding to these users. Further, whether these staff had an idea and an understanding of why it is important to respond to these users, and the Web 2.0 world, where two way interaction and many to many communication is the norm.
If he was left out there in the cold on his own, it's no surprise he resigned.
New Vista-Bashing Blog (Score:5, Insightful)
In contrast, a blogging spokesperson sounds easy, as you can triple-verify everything through the tech staff, legal, and the upper echelons before publishing.
I'd be quite surprised if he left due to anything related to Vista. Heck, MS paid him to support Vista, and I'm sure he will continue to do so under the principle of "never bash a former employer until you retire".
Instead, I think he left for either an easier life and/or more money.
Top 5 least Glamorous Jobs (Score:4, Funny)
#4 Tank Ammo Tester (Think Bugs Bunny).
#3 Amish Mechanic (What do you call a man with his arm up a horse's Ass?)
#2 Thong Adjuster for Janet Reno. (Close your eyes and visualize it..AIEEEEEE)
#1 Microsoft Pro Vista Blogger.
Seriously, I wonder how long he had that job for. And now, how long will he need a shrink to regain his self esteem ?
Web 3.0 (Score:2, Funny)
No, you guys have it all wrong. White was "let go" so that Microsoft could bring in "fresher" Web 3.0 talent. God only knows what the next "Catch All" web term will be, and Microsoft has to be ready for it.
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When I Hear The Word "Blogosphere" (Score:5, Funny)
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A bowl of blogospheres and a coffee please.
Maybe It Was This (Score:2)
Tell the truth about Vista to people who already pretty much know it, or
Toe the corporate line and continue to receive paychecks and promotions.
Oh the pressure!
Job Opportunity! (Score:4, Funny)
Just one more... (Score:2)
Propoganda for the LOSE. (Score:2, Insightful)
All hype or not, MS *does* need an image makeover (Score:5, Insightful)
Today's college and university students are tomorrow's tech. consumers, so it actually IS important to maintain a good image with them.
Yes, paid corporate blogging and much of this other "Web 2.0" stuff is ultimately going to be shown to be more "fluff" than worthwhile pursuit. Still, sites like MySpace and Facebook are part of this "next generation of web apps", and by all counts, they DO succeed in keeping the attention of the younger computer-using audience. (History repeats itself, folks. Despite the nay-sayers who were USUALLY quite correct about all the stupid e-commerce ideas springing up all over during the
Microsoft just doesn't want to miss out again, if they ignore the wrong trend and it balloons into something huge....
Right now, their image is really tarnished on many fronts, including the "red ring of death" issues with XBox 360's AND the choice of backing the wrong HD technology for DVDs, the whole Vista fiasco, and an overall perception that the latest updates to their products don't offer very much for the money. (I just don't see nearly the level of "excitement" over the Office 2007 release that I remember people having when, say, Office 2000 came out. Most people using it just seem to be doing so because it was bundled with a new computer system purchase, or they needed to buy it to be legal on a new PC that didn't come bundled with it. Many of these people are students who got a huge price break through their school.)
Honestly, I think as much as people liked to bash Microsoft in the past, they often had a love/hate thing going on. It was difficult not to admire Bill Gates for his success, and/or for his willingness to donate to charities. People were really interested to see documentaries showing the inside of his mansion and so on. He generated a certain amount of "buzz" whenever he gave a speech to discuss his views on technology and ideas for the future. But now, Gates has pretty much retired and people like Steve Balmer are the new "figureheads". Who thinks of Balmer and thinks of anything positive?? He's often referred to as "monkey boy" and is best known for throwing chairs.
Retaining talent & Microsoft's one unique abil (Score:5, Insightful)
And Microsoft was sort of able to do one thing that no other company could really do. Microsoft was (more or less) able to build some really huge software projects in a few years. Such as WinNT/Win2000 and the Office suite. I'm not saying they were perfect, but they were good enough. And nobody else could execute projects on that scale.
My reading of the (years late, mediocre) release of Vista is that Microsoft has lost that one unique ability. My guess is that the kind of coders that used to put in their 7 years at MS are now headed elsewhere, such as Google. And without that steady supply of top tier talent, MS can't innovate quickly. Regarding the loss of one PR flack, PFFFFFT!
Re:Retaining talent & Microsoft's one unique a (Score:4, Funny)
I only hope I can get a job here in Canada so that I don't have to go through the hassles of applying for a Visa to work in the US or India (where most Microsoft jobs are located).
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It's confirmed (Score:3, Insightful)
So that's where Cringely went (Score:2, Funny)
Retention after a huge project (Score:2)
I call BS (Score:3, Insightful)
I call BS. Microsoft has no business competing with Google in the first place. Microsoft software sucks because the company has become so bloated and the bureaucracy is so big that it's impossible to do anything innovative. Microsoft should focus on what made it such a success in the first place. Operating systems, it's suite of server software and Office on the desktop. Vista is a fucking disaster of epic proportions.
If Microsoft stopped trying to compete with every big tech company out there, eliminated the bureaucracy and spent all of that cash on R&D for the core software that it sells, it might actually be able to produce a half way decent operating system.