I still hold the opinion that good typography and simple layout beats semi-interactive animated pages made up of static content (ie: graphs with real time update).
Sway: A new presentation application from Microsoft
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Re: Sway: A new presentation application from Microsoft
#32I'm surprised they didn't show this on Windows devices in the video.
They did show a few windows devices, the surface made an appearance as do a few different laptops and desktops, I think the lack of windows phones was just to give people the idea that it will support more than just windows.
There was a Nokia, and they're practically all Windows phones, no?
Re: Sway: A new presentation application from Microsoft
#331. Interesting that they showed an Apple logo on the back of the iPad (it would be hard to hide that it was an iPad), but no evidence whatsoever of any Microsoft mobile device (does a laptop count?) 2. I kinda want that umbrella.
Brands and icons that I could identify in order of appearance:
Moleskine
Apple iPhone
Generic PC
OneDrive
Twitter
Facebook
Youtube
Generic 3D Printer
Apple iPad
Room full of macs
Generic LCD Television
Twitter
Surface 3
IE Desktop
Windows Store
IE Metro
Outlook
iPad Mini
Nokia Phone
Microsoft Office
Microsoft
I may have missed a few.
It is a connected world. Smart companies "embrace and extend."
Re: Sway: A new presentation application from Microsoft
#34Impressive for a number of reasons, many of which relate to the presentation/promotion of a Microsoft product: - Not a single Microsoft reference in the entire landing page - Broad use of Apple iPhone and iPad devices alongside normal PCs with no special acknowledgement - Product focus on readability/usability across many platforms, OS/device-independent - Broad integration of sharing hooks across Google, Twitter, FB…
Most companies nowadays have some kind of Machine Learning in place, it shouldn't be a surprise if Microsoft uses some of that knowledge to craft their ads. It's not necessarly that they "got it", but maybe just doing what the data says they should do.
I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all approach to promoting software that companies converge on. If "the data" is telling them to do this, Microsoft has managed to ignore "the data" for decades of marketing execution across many products and sectors. I'm just glad to see an example of their marketing strategy not shooting their products in the foot.
Re: Sway: A new presentation application from Microsoft
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
They did show a few windows devices, the surface made an appearance as do a few different laptops and desktops, I think the lack of windows phones was just to give people the idea that it will support more than just windows.
There was a Nokia, and they're practically all Windows phones, no?
You're right, I can't believe I missed that, I'm usually able to spot the different types of devices.
And yeah, that is a windows phone.
Re: Sway: A new presentation application from Microsoft
#36Impressive for a number of reasons, many of which relate to the presentation/promotion of a Microsoft product: - Not a single Microsoft reference in the entire landing page - Broad use of Apple iPhone and iPad devices alongside normal PCs with no special acknowledgement - Product focus on readability/usability across many platforms, OS/device-independent - Broad integration of sharing hooks across Google, Twitter, FB…
Most companies nowadays have some kind of Machine Learning in place, it shouldn't be a surprise if Microsoft uses some of that knowledge to craft their ads. It's not necessarly that they "got it", but maybe just doing what the data says they should do.
You might be amazed how often senior executives ignore the data in favor of misconstrued notions of brand protection/image or fears about embracing things "not invented here".
Moreover, this product (more the video for it) represents a departure from previous approaches on Microsoft's part. So, for that reason, it's interesting, IMHO.
That having been said, I'm still not clear about exactly what the primary problem it is trying to solve. I get all sorts of little problems but there's no clear revolutionary "aha" in it.
Re: Sway: A new presentation application from Microsoft
#37This looks cool but I'm not blown away by the ad on any level. I don't feel like I have a good idea of what sway is or does. Is it powerpoint? Is it for making websites? How did it actually help that guy make his octopus umbrella?
Re: Sway: A new presentation application from Microsoft
#38It kind of reminds me of a modern Google Sites clone...but that OK. Looks cool!
Re: Sway: A new presentation application from Microsoft
#39Tried to get an 'invite' and they send an email asking you to Tweet about it for a better chance to get an invite. Seriously?!?
A lot of startups use this tactic, it's not uncommon. The email clearly says you're on the list, if you don't like waiting, tweet about it. What's wrong with that?
What's wrong with it? It irritates the consumer by making you feel like you are being played with. It really turned me off.
Re: Sway: A new presentation application from Microsoft
#40This looks cool but I'm not blown away by the ad on any level. I don't feel like I have a good idea of what sway is or does. Is it powerpoint? Is it for making websites? How did it actually help that guy make his octopus umbrella?
It looks like a combination of (social) search, OneNote & PowerPoint.
It seems to let you find, store and organize information. Then you may also format it for presenting.
That's what I got from the ad anyway.