Jeremiah Owyang

Microsoft Hosts IE7 Product Release Party for Passion Community

Update: Listen to the IE7 Podcast Interview by Martin and I

Martin and I we’re invited to Microsoft’s IE Release party of it’s new official browser. This long awaited browser has been in beta mode for quite some time and for Microsoft to put it’s stamp back as a feature rich browser for today’s modern web it’s certainly needed.

Martin is quite the guy, he brought his serious podcasting gear and let me sit in and use his gear to interview the IE team. (Thanks Martin) We polled the community to get questions from Enterprise IT folks, Web Developers and Designers, Software Engineers, and thought leaders that wanted to ask the product team.

Microsoft gets Community Marketing: Giving up control to gain more
I gotta give Microsoft (and Kelsey from PR firm Waggener Edstrom) a tremendous amount of credit, they really get Community Marketing. Although an alpha company with deep pockets, for them to release to bloggers and podcasters to get the word out rather than only traditional press is an example of giving to the community to gain more. The theme of ‘letting go’ of a command and control message to just having normal conversations with ‘the people’ is an example of modern companies listening and engaging to their community. Nicely done.

By the way, your company doesn’t need deep pockets to reach out to your passion customers and influencers in your industry to bring them close in an active two-way dialogue.

Podcast interview of the IE7 Product team coming soon
We promise to have the podcast up for your in the near future to share the conversations we had with the product team. As you know, we asked the community to give us questions to ask the product team.

Anatomy of Social Media product release “Microsoft Style”
Microsoft is one of the model companies when it comes to harnessing social media to build community. They’ve figured out that customers are now in charge, they’ve learned to ‘let go’ to gain more and bring the community closer. Let’s break down why I consider their style so successful:

1. 1) Involve your community in product development throughout product lifecycle using blogs, forums, and other communications
2. 2) Identify your passion community and hold an event (online/offline)
1. Invite them to meet your product team for a casual conversation
2. No demos, no pitches, no sells
3. 3) Product Release
1. IE Official Blog (Post by Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager)
2. Official Press Release (notice how the style is so different than IE Blog?)
3. Product Release on IE Official website
4. Build Community: Microsoft’s Channel 9 Community Site
1. Watch the Video Tour
2. Engage in forums with development team, keep the experience interactive throughout product life cycle
4. 4) Participate in the Conversations
1. Lots of blog conversations on TechMeme around the globe.
2. Not all of the conversations are IE friendly, but that’s real life.
5. 5) Continue to communicate and dialogue, bring customers close, listen.
1. And all this with out a Scoble and Niall!


Giant Paella

Meeting the IE7 Product Team

Bess Ho

Thomas Hawk and the Webcams

Kelsey at Darts

Thomas Hawk and the Aliens
I chat with Gary of the IE Product Management Team