o brave new world: General Community Project Things

Microsoft.com Community Apps Beta RELEASED

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 00:29:15 GMT

Ok, well, here we go: http://www.microsoft.com/communities/default.mspx. Don't want to belabor it here, just want to get the word out. Check out the apps and let us know where you want us to take them.

BTW, per the comment that Tagspace is lame just limited to Microsoft.com--couldn't agree more. We're gradually opening it up as we prove out the app's performance and scalability. You're actually able to tag a great many more domains now...

- dave

Been a while...

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 03:54:09 GMT

I have no idea what happens when I don't post for a while--do I lose any readership that I might've been fortunate enough to acquire along the way, earlier, when I had a few more posts?

Anyway, it's been a helluva heads-down period for me and the team--and will continue to be so for the next month or so--working our butts off trying to get the first version of our feed aggregation system and RSS directory together. The meetings have been constant and the awareness that I could be doing more to add to the project and bring it along sometimes weighs heavily. So many variables and things beyond my control. As a MSFT product manager, I've lived under the illusion of control for quite some time, and now what I'm finding is that I have to trust the team to do the right thing and largely step out of the way... Besides, with everything that's going on, where am I supposed to add value?

Lots of questions and a certain number of doubts, to be sure, and some of them are probably pretty normal for a project of this nature and size. In all my time at Microsoft--nearly six years--I've never had to deal with projects of so much complexity and seeming risk. But I must remember that what this is about is taking a shot at something that ultimately will have great customer impact, but in its first iterations, may seem to leave something to be desired.

The process we're using is "agile development," and we'll see as this thing proves out how agile can help us to make adjustments and react quickly to feedback. I'm in fact certain that our initial forays may receive something less than a great fanfare, but the opportunity is to iterate, iterate, iterate and make it what it must ultimately be: a great and powerful feed system married to top-notch tooling and one of many customer experiences to come of it in the form of th RSS directory.

Wish us luck--or better yet, when this thing goes out on our Labs cluster, help us by giving us the constructive feedback we need to make this set of resources what they need to be--what they ultimately must be.

Looking for that glass-half full amid all the risk and uncertainty--

Questions, Answers, and Systems (Oh my)

Tue, 14 Feb 2006 01:28:09 GMT

Here's something we've been exploring now for more than a few months.

The basic premise is this: It's unnecessarily hard to get answers to questions on the Web, no matter the subject matter, but especially where it concerns technical support issues, etc. for Microsoft products and services. Sure, there are Web forums and newsgroups and chats and all those good things, but many may not like those interfaces, provided they can find them in the first place.

So the idea is this: Let's provide a more abstracted service... something like "Not finding what you're looking for? Ask the community!" The interfaces would be relatively straightforward and simple, and would allow the user to ask the question, have it get shuttled to the proper place or person for answering, and then the user could track and rate incoming answers from the community.

A no brainer? You tell us. We're thinking that regular users and experts alike could benefit from such a system from Microsoft Communities, but we need to know for sure... Please comment on this post and let's get a conversation started.

By the way, here are some links to some high res design visuals for what this system might look like, deployed w/in a Microsoft Web site:

How a promo would look on the left side of a Web page: http://labs.communities.microsoft.com/images/comps/qa_system/qa_askquestion_promo.jpg
Question form: http://labs.communities.microsoft.com/images/comps/qa_system/qa_askquestion_qform.jpg
"My QA" page where you can answer a a question: http://labs.communities.microsoft.com/images/comps/qa_system/qa_myqa_answerq.jpg
What an answered question might look like: http://labs.communities.microsoft.com/images/comps/qa_system/qa_myqa_qanswered.jpg

Cheers--

debut message from dave

Tue, 07 Feb 2006 02:26:03 GMT

This may seem just about the most ludicrous thing ever: a product manager in the MS Communities Team finally dispensing w/ his fears and shedding his virginity in the blogosphere. Well here goes.

I don't mind writing--I actually enjoy it. If you stick around, you may find stuff of interest and maybe even a little entertainment to boot. My main topics will be what we're working on in the Microsoft Communities Team (not to be confused with the MSN Spaces Team, or any of our other sister organizations at Microsoft devoted to understanding and building community for our customers). Somehow it will all make sense in the fullness of time.

So what I got on my mind right now are some very practical concerns. I want--we want--to build community experiences for you.

Now what do I mean by "you"? Good question. I mean anyone who engages with Microsoft community resources on Microsoft.com, out on third-party partner sites, participates in user groups, or just generally hangs out in Web forums or newsgroups looking for answers to questions about Microsoft products and services. Our stomping ground for now is really Microsoft.com, but we know that community is an organic thing that lives "out there," in the Internet cloud, on misc. Web sites, via myriad blogs, at user group meetings, in professional trade conferences, and so on and so forth.

So what do you need? What do you want us to build for you to help you get answers to your questions? To find the community resources you need? To meet with others like you?

Sure we have some ideas. So many studies, focus groups, etc. tell us some things. But the most important thing is that relationship we--I--can set up with real people. I hope that this "Space" and its blog can help make that happen.

I'll be adding resources to my Space in the next few days/weeks, and seeking comment and feedback. Mostly, I just want to engage in a conversation with you about the things you care about in the Microsoft online community space.

Thanks--I appreciate your ... curiosity?

BTW: check out and please comment on the Q&A and RSS Dir comps in the photo albums in this Space!

dave