It is clear that when it comes to Web, Microsoft is not the leading player. That batch goes to a startup(when compared to Microsoft) named Google. At times I feel that in the process of introducing new products Microsoft at times forgets about their old products which could be widely in use. For example Hotmail. It looks like Microsoft has totally forgotten about Hotmail which was once their crown jewel.
Why have they slipped? I think because they have stopped paying attention to small things. Here is an example: After reading an email on Hotmail if you wish to delete it then you must scroll all the way up to top to find the delete button. How hard can it be to put a delete button and maybe the entire toolbar at the end of each message? And while logging in why do users have to type in <xyz>@hotmail.com. It isn’t like any other domain names can be used.
As a user I am looking for simple ways to achieve my goals. Web based Hotmail isn’t just cutting it anymore. It really should not be a surprise if millions of people have moved to GMail. Ray Ozzie in his Internet Services Disruption memo said
But for all our great progress, our efforts have not always led to the degree that perhaps they could have. We should’ve been leaders with all our web properties in harnessing the potential of AJAX, following our pioneering work in OWA.
My 2 cents to Microsoft is that maybe you have stopped looking for simple solutions. How about getting your users involved in improving Hotmail. Ask them what they want and I am sure you will get valuable feedback. While Microsoft has done a great job in giving users previews of their software through beta and CTP programs, such an effort is lacking in web based products. So if this post is ever read by anyone who has anything to do with Hotmail or other Microsoft web based products, my suggestion is to have conversations with your users. And have a conversation without noise. Announcing a product after product is great but pause and ask your users what they think about those products.
9 Responses to Why Microsoft Is Not Leading In Web
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Hmm.. notice that when you go to http://www.hotmail.com, it redirects to live.com. Also, @hotmail.com is required because hotmail (“Live ID”) does indeed have more than one domain name , for example @live.in.
Reposted using HTML codes for less than and greater than :)
When posting something, it would be great if it could be posted as-is without being too smart! Eg. i typed only the domain name but this wordpress software converted it to a full http address. :(
Hmm.. notice that when you go to http://www.hotmail.com, it redirects to live.com. Also, <xyz>@hotmail.com is required because hotmail (”Live ID”) does indeed have more than one domain name , for example @live.in.
Hi Anon,
I think this is where it gets confusing for a user. If you look at the page which gets displayed when you type hotmail.com, you will notice that it uses terms like:
Windows Live Hotmail
MSN Hotmail
Windows Live ID
Passport
To a user this is just complicating things a bit too much. Moreover, nothing on the page itself tells me that I can also use another ID such as example@live.in
I think usability needs some work.
P.S. I will investigate why WordPress is acting smart. Thanks for your feedback :)
I agree that usability can be better, but for people you have different email addresses (like @live.in), they do know what to type. Hotmail tries to give a hint by saying “(example555@hotmail.com)” below the user name, and I think a better hint would have been “(Example: myemail@hotmail.com or myemail@live.in)” which would clearly tell the user that more than one domain name is possible, and would also help popularize @live.in at the same time!
btw, seems like your site’s (wordpress) time is on GMT.. confusing! Would be nice if wordpress can either take my current time zone and display that (whatever it does internally should not matter), or should suffix the time zone for the time the comment was posted! (My last comment is at “August 5th, 2008 at 11:51 am” “GMT”.. that’s 5:51 “MT”)
Hi Anon,
I have been a hotmail user since 1996 and over majority of time I have been a happy user. I started noticing a decline in quality since it was branded as Live. At one time hotmail was most widely used web based email in the world. And now Gmail is taking/snatching away the share. Why? There must be something wrong with hotmail. Everyone in my family use to be on hotmail. They are all using Gmail now.
As a user and just one user, I don’t know if my feedback makes any difference but I hope it does.
Looking at WordPress GMT issue now. Thanks for your feedback.
Could it be the case that people switching to GMAIL just because Google is a better search engine? I personally do not use Windows Live Search, because Google deliver better results.
Arthur,
You are right. It is hard to disagree on this point. So far Google has a superior search engine.
Keep working ,great job!