At the IE 7 Release Party: Microsoft Gets Community (Photoblog)
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) Involve your community in product development throughout product lifecycle using blogs, forums, and other communications
- 2) Identify your passion community and hold an event (online/offline)
- Invite them to meet your product team for a casual conversation
- No demos, no pitches, no sells
- 3) Product Release
- IE Official Blog (Post by Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager)
- Official Press Release (notice how the style is so different than IE Blog?)
- Product Release on IE Official website
- Build Community: Microsoft’s Channel 9 Community Site
- Watch the Video Tour
- Engage in forums with development team, keep the experience interactive throughout product life cycle
- 4) Participate in the Conversations
- Lots of blog conversations on TechMeme around the globe.
- Not all of the conversations are IE friendly, but that’s real life.
- 5) Continue to communicate and dialogue, bring customers close, listen.
- 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
21 Comments so far
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I’ll be waiting. I have followed the IE Blog and some of the Channel 9 interviews as well as some conversations with a few of the product managers.
I’m glad they finally are releasing because the sooner I do not have to support IE 6 the better. But why push it out through auto updates rather than on demand downloads? So frustrating.
I talked to Dean about the auto update process. The files will download to your PC and users will be prompted to upgrade.
It won’t force install, but the files will be on your PC.
There are ways to stop it of course, should you desire.
That’s good - I was hoping it wouldn’t do the auto install - especially since it forces a restart.
Off topic - the picture of Thomas Hawk with webcams - are they the Microsoft LifeCams? I’ve been thinking about getting one - haven’t heard much about them.
Andy
Hmmm I’m not sure what kind of cams they are, I’ll check it out later and let you know.
[…] Covering the IE Release Party I was just discussing how we had a great time at the Microsoft IE party. Martin McKeay (Industry Security Expert, he has a career blog, security podcast series and a blog on ComputerWorld) and I had the opportunity to interview the product team and community For me as a Web Strategist/Manager, understanding the tools that vehicles and tools that users will use to access your website is important. […]
IE7 Hits the Street…
Just in case you missed it somehow, we released IE7 last Wednesday . In the first four days over three…
[…] With the final release, we got a chance to do some fun tech community activities. For instance, on the night of the launch, we hosted a dinner in San Francisco for about twenty leaders in the local blogging community. Afterwards, Jeremiah Owyang posted his thoughts and Thomas Hawk put up a great set of photos. We also finally let our product managers do some real marketing. We have the first IE radio spot that I can remember us doing, and we created some mobile billboards that cruised through 10 major U.S. cities. I’ve included a few photos below. […]
[…] The good folks at the IE7 team have sent Mozilla’s Firefox team a cake congratulating them. Just a few days ago I was talking about how Microsoft really gets community, and is reaching out. Here’s another great example. […]
It’s just stupid for MS to send cake to the FF team — like it was a contest to see who could ship first? Of course MS could ship first, they have always shipped buggy incomplete products. The FF team had to wait to actually close all their open bugs before they could ship — not just meet some artificial date created in a boardroom meeting. You guys suck.
[…] No dia do lançamento, a Microsoft custeou um jantar para vinte líderes de comunidades, em San Francisco (fotos do evento aqui e aqui). Bem que podia ter um desses aqui no Brasil, né?
; […]
Three million of IE7 in first 4 days…
IEBLOG: In the first four days over three million of you have already downloaded the final release. Thank…
[…] No dia do lançamento, a Microsoft custeou um jantar para vinte líderes de comunidades, em San Francisco (fotos do evento aqui e aqui). Bem que podia ter um desses aqui no Brasil, né? ; […]
[…] So with all the major web browsers now having “community” people, and my respected colleague Jeremiah even saying that the Internet Explorer team gets community one question comes to mind. Has there ever been a better time to use a web browser? We’re all listening. […]
[…] With the final release, we got a chance to do some fun tech community activities. For instance, on the night of the launch, we hosted a dinner in San Francisco for about twenty leaders in the local blogging community. Afterwards, Jeremiah Owyang posted his thoughts and Thomas Hawk put up a great set of photos. We also finally let our product managers do some real marketing. We have the first IE radio spot that I can remember us doing, and we created some mobile billboards that cruised through 10 major U.S. cities. I’ve included a few photos below. […]
[…] No dia do lançamento, a Microsoft custeou um jantar para vinte líderes de comunidades, em San Francisco (fotos do evento aqui e aqui). Bem que podia ter um desses aqui no Brasil, né? ; […]
[…] With the final release, we got a chance to do some fun tech community activities. For instance, on the night of the launch, we hosted a dinner in San Francisco for about twenty leaders in the local blogging community. Afterwards, Jeremiah Owyang posted his thoughts and Thomas Hawk put up a great set of photos. We also finally let our product managers do some real marketing. We have the first IE radio spot that I can remember us doing, and we created some Mobile billboards that cruised through 10 major U.S. cities. […]
What moron decided to change the location of an applications menu bar? For just this one application, so a primary user interface element is now not where anyone expects it to be. The menu bar is a fundamental user interface element that that users expect to find in a certain place. They also always expect it to be there. To put the address bar above the menu bar in IE7 is truly one of the stupidest things I’ve ever witnessed.
wow.
[…] I don’t think inviting bloggers to their San Francisco launch shows that Microsoft gets community. It shows they get marketing. The IE team is doing a great job with their blog, and Microsoft in general with topical blogging. This falls far short of, as CEO of Mozilla Mitchell Baker puts it, “[giving] up some command and control” to their community. Firefox has some self empowered communities, but I am with Chris Messina in wanting more from Mozilla: I’d like to see Mozilla stand up and declare the principles, ideas, dreams and ambitions that set it apart and keep its proponents up at night, dreaming of ways to get the story out there to an ever-widening audience. Anything less, and the juggernaut will bowl us over, diminishing the effects of the incredible achievements that have been made in the past two years. […]
[…] Microsoft IE7 Party […]
[…] In the past few months, I’ve noticed a trending in Fortune 500 companies integrating Bloggers, Podcasters, Viral Video at events. In early 2006, there was fear and caution from the this unknown medium, but I see it taking hold now. Here’s how smart corporations are benefiting from Social Media Here’s a few examples of how corporations can benefit from embracing social media and those that have voices about your market. Example 1: Bloggers and Corporations meet in real life Some companies have figured out that executives and product teams at a corporation can greatly benefit from meeting with passion bloggers in a particular industry. I helped to coordinate the Hitachi Data Systems meeting with the CEO and the Web 2.0 crowd (of course most are bloggers), Microsoft invited me to their IE7 launch with their product team, last week, Michael Dell hosted a roundtable, and colleague Robert Scoble was invited to have lunch with Bill Gates. […]
[…] 7) Real World and Virtual World are Tied What happens in real life echos online. We’re seeing that more and more as politicians, CEOs and organizationinvolve bloggers, podcasters, and other influentials to real life events. The role of Online/Offline Community Relations is becoming more and more important. I’ve dissected how Microsoft hosts blogger dinners. Train your orginsiation to tie both strategies together. Read my post on Web Strategy: Overlaying Social Media for your Corporate Events […]