Microsoft: Please Stop The Premature Demos
I feel there’s a long list of things Microsoft could learn from Apple, but one I really wish they’d take to heart is ending these “peeks into the lab” — premature previews of stuff they’re working on for the future. It’s not a smart strategy; it’s brand-damaging, and kind of pathetic.
Which is the opposite of Apple’s secretive ways. Apple doesn’t comment on products in development, announce new products only when they’re ready to go with calculated fanfare, and products in development are locked down like the Willy Wonka factory. This strategy builds hype, keeps competitors totally in the dark, and more subtly, every product looks brand new without the clutter of prototypes that came before.
Consumers don’t want to know how the sausage was made.
So here’s the latest peek into Microsoft’s lab. Which demonstrates another reason why it’s a good strategy to keep prototypes under wraps: prototypes are inevitably underwhelming; without any design polish that looks like a sellable product.
Well, that’s being a little too kind. This actually looks like crap.
Now the head slapping begins. Haven’t we seen with iPads, iPhones, and Droids, that touch screens are the future? How about a touch screen on the back instead? It’s like one step toward the future, two steps back, and meanwhile, the iPad sells another million.
It’s a safe bet this will never see the light of day. For it’s yet another in a series of premature demos that ultimately led to disappointment:
- Courier. Project killed.
- Fancy Mice. Still waiting for any of these to see the light of day.
- The Kin. Project killed.
- Microsoft Surface. Better demo, but I haven’t heard about this product for years. Certainly nowhere near iPad level of success.
I’d actually argue that Microsoft does more damage to their brand by demoing, releasing, and killing products than if they kept all a total secret and killed them internally, never letting anybody outside of Microsoft know any of these products existed.
So please Microsoft: stop, stop, stop, with these peeks into your sausage factory.
I totally agree, of course. I think the reason we see these “leaks” out of Microsoft is that there are so many divisions, so many different labs with different little pet projects, that when someone gets ignored long enough by the top brass, or they think their project is going to get killed by committee, they just leak it out there, in hopes that there will be a positive reaction that forces management to change its mind.
Microsoft is like a chicken with its head cut off right now. No direction whatsoever coming from above. Tons of infighting. It’s sad, really. But they have absolutely no idea what they’re doing in Redmond anymore. The fact that the company still has stockholders is pretty staggering, to tell you the truth. Testament to how well the Microsoft propaganda machine trained the press years ago.
Of course, I’d argue that Google is headed in the same direction, with as many failed products in the past year and a similar lack of focus. But that’s sacrilege in the tech world. Maybe now that Google has shown its true colors on Net Neutrality, the hippies will come around and see Google for what it is; a monopolist seeking to take over every market it can get its greedy hands on. “Don’t be evil is bull$hit,” indeed.
Yep. The key — even if there is no over-arching product strategy, do your best to not let the public know.
You’re a bit ahead of the curve with Google, but this net neutrality thing is definitely a big deal. Will have to write some thoughts on that as well.