Microsoft becomes human thru Facebook

September 12, 2007 | Networking | Connie

I need to do a shout out to Microsoft for their AWESOME support! & explain how Facebook was integral in the connection. Facebook has provided me with incredible networking over the past month & 1/2. I had registered last May, but not really gotten involved until I noticed Jeremiah making Web Strategy groups & I played along for a couple of hours answering questions as he posted them. Sean O’Driscoll joined in the conversation & I disagreed with him on a point. (How was I to know that he was Microsoft’s GM of Marketing? If I had, I probably would’ve quietly moved on.) The random power of Facebook is here: Sean befriended me & saw a recent blog post that I had written on MS Live Writer which was a culmination of feedback from our readers. He messaged me saying that he would forward it to the development team. Since that time Sean & I have had our virtual paths cross many times. So what does this have to do with support? Well, this past week I woke to a Facebook message from Joe Cheng, a Live Writer Developer letting me know that not only was the latest version of Live Writer available, but that they had fixed the bugs we had identified & he thought my readers would like to know! What a great personal touch. And it doesn’t end there. This is my third blog that I write too & that’s one of the marvels of Live Writer is that you can manage multiple blogs. I blogged my first few entries without it & it was PAINFUL! It’s hard for me to blog without it because it is THE BEST tool & makes embedding images incredibly easy, automatically ftp’s, pings, etc. Can you tell that I’m addicted?! But when I tried to connect it with my blog last night, it wouldn’t. So I emailed Joe Cheng. Last night, he replied within a couple of hours & told us what buggy code to remove from the blog. My sister said, “All fixed. (Thanks to Joe) It would have taken a day or 2 to figure out to look there for the problem.” And remember! she’s the technically inclined one! That may indicate I would never have found it – I prefer to leave the code alone – it’s safer. A huge thanks to Sean & Joe for giving Microsoft a human touch. (And to all MS staff please don’t take that the wrong way). It’s totally impressive that such a huge entity can offer such great personalized customer service. Kudos to you! I will be attending the Facebook for Business Strategy conference in December & look forward to meeting Sean & Jeremiah in person! (Jeremiah O. is keynoting it). Are you using Facebook for networking? Should you be at Facebook, the conf, or both? And if you are at Facebook, feel free to add me using the link under my photo. Update: In the first paragraph I linked to the post that Sean had forwarded.

9 Responses to “Microsoft becomes human thru Facebook”

dmr92 says:

September 13, 2007 at 7:06 am

I think I will be following your groups in facebook and see where it can take me… sounds like you’re meeting interesting people through it.
Connie says:

September 13, 2007 at 9:45 am

David – The Web Strategist Facebook groups are amazing opportunities to interact, learn, share & network

Thomas – thank you for linking to my blog! I agree that Web 2.0 has indeed made it possible for people to network in ways that weren’t possible previously.
Jason Preston says:

September 13, 2007 at 10:37 am

Connie, that’s really cool stuff. One of the things I like most about the internet is how it can often take away the “wow” factor of some people in real life.

As you said: “How was I to know that he was Microsoft’s GM of Marketing? If I had, I probably would’ve quietly moved on.”

On the ‘net, that type of thing is a lot easier to miss, and, it turns out, it’s consequently much easier to make connections – everyone’s on a much more even playing field.
seanodmvp says:

September 13, 2007 at 1:03 pm

Thanks for the nice comments. The beauty of the web is that it is a meritocracy. My credibility is based on what I do, say, publish, etc. It is not based on other abstractions (like title or role). In the end, this is part of the flat earth movement. I blogged recently “the world is flat, but your company isn’t”. It’s a important change moment for the industry.

sean
GM…but really just fellow blogger who knew the right people.

sean
Connie says:

September 13, 2007 at 9:27 pm

Jason – it’s great bouncing ideas around with you! and yes the web is an amazing place to network!

Sean you’re a great blogger that does his job well. I’m thankful that our paths crossed!
Mack Collier says:

October 7, 2007 at 4:13 pm

Great post Connie! These personal touches from companies are a great way to create evangelists as we all appreciate a rep from those ‘big companies’ taking the time out to give us a personal reply to an issue we have raised, or one that we are passionate about.

I have no idea why more companies don’t get this, but the best way to launch a ‘blogger outreach’ program is to simply monitor and respond to the existing online conversations.
Doctor says:

November 1, 2008 at 5:39 pm

Best of the best
George Soros says:

November 1, 2008 at 7:44 pm

Good work guy!
Know-orange says:

December 25, 2009 at 11:57 am

thanks alot for the great post!
I found a youtube video about xbox live hacks: that I would like to share: xbox live Hacks!…
but seriously, amazing post and thank you allot !!
I look forward to your next article !