If you read the blog often, you’ve likely noticed that I’ve got a lot of family and they are a long ways away and you’d think I might feel disconnected. As the second youngest of six siblings, I’ve been able to experience “family” to the fullest with brothers, sisters, cousins, enough to fill a house, a yard and then some. So, is it a great time to connect with family? And how can we help? You might have noticed the new commercials launched by Microsoft recently. They feature families from around the globe using technology to interact, play, watch and connect with each other.
I can relate as I use my PC to stay connected to my friends but it’s been a little bit of coaching to get my parents to start video chatting with me but recently my mom admitted that she loves it. We both sign into Windows Live Messenger at a pre-selected time and I’m able to tell her about my adventures, my day and my worries. She loves being able to see me and I like seeing her -- video chatting has connected us through give an example – glamping in Montana to coffee in my favorite coffee house Vivace in Seattle.
It’s not just video chatting though. My dad isn’t the chattiest of folks so we rarely have long conversations in any form. That being said, he loves to see great photos. So, I’ll often take an image with my HTC HD7 Windows Phone and upload it to SkyDrive. Then I’ll edit it in Windows Photo Gallery – change the colors, sharpen the image or add a caption. Next, I can upload it to SkyDrive, share via an email link or show him in person from my phone (whenever we’re in the same city). That way, it’s like my dad gets to be there on the journey with me.
To see some of the ads with stories of how you can use a Windows PC for sharing and connecting look here. Now, would you share how you use your Windows PC to stay in touch with your family? I’d love your tips, tricks and ideas as it will still be a long 2 months until I get to go home for Christmas. In the meantime, you can join our upcoming Tech Tuesday Live Twitter Chat to hear ways that Ben, Brandon, Dan and I use to keep up with our families and friends.
To participate:
Note we will only be talking about the outlined topic each week and we will not be answering questions outside those topics. Questions for this week may include: Can I connect my PC to my Xbox? How does the Windows Phone work with a Windows PC? What are the best bets for connectivity this holiday season?
these ads in my opinion are a waste of money because they are exactly that bad : ( sad to see this is the big holiday push. need more ads that show features of windows phone or features of the new xbox dash. i don't want an iPhone ad clone but you need to make users comfortable with your products before they even own one.
@cmwind- thank you for your comment. We will be talking about the products and how to use them on this blog over the next few months. Hope that will be able to help make people comfortable with them, per your comment!
Love to see some high profile ads but these are unfocused. I would like to see MS focus on features that excite people enough to buy the Windows Phone, Win7, etc. Nokia's rumored plans to focus on social media and youth is spot on for the phone. These ads just make me think "Yeah, but with the exception of the Xbox & Kinect, I really don't need Microsoft at all to do this stuff." I hope these ads are hitting marks for other test groups but they are kind of hollow for a techy like me.
Looking forward to the chat today.
Not enough publicizing of the WP7 exists and small nothing videos on YouTube that don't get enough views, go global and on TV and do some local tests for people to try it out and test speeds! Make my Dad want it, not because I develop for it but because it's going to make his life easy with built-in multi-posting integration.
IMHO, that Windows Phone ad which says "The sexiest smartphone OS yet" should be aired on TV. Here is the link -> youtube.com/watch
I love Windows Phone channel on YouTube.. Need MOAR vids there 8-)
I agree with @cmwind these new ads are too cheesy and just make Microsoft seem out of touch in the marketing department.
There's smarter ways of following through with the whole "its a great to be share/play/whatever with your family" concept. For one show more focus on the products. Use people that aren't all goofy and cartoony like, not everyone can relate to a Brady bunch type family with Microsoft products.
The HTC ads for the windows phones are actually good. There needs to be more ads showcasing the best features of MS products without goofy characters.
Maybe some new ads with real testimonials of people trying out WP mango in the streets and have them saying what they liked most in comparison to their current phone (assuming they own one). Also another one that pokes fun at the whole being "late to the party" notion by bias tech bloggers and fanboys.yet still ending up the center of attention in a room full of people with identical smartphones.
I mean there's tons of ways of doing some great adverts that will create a buzz but please lose the whole old guy in a suit and tie coorporate image that Microsoft has no thanks to apples marketing and gain the "cool" factor with non goofy suburban families.
Here's hoping some of these suggestions get to the proper marketing teams in Microsoft. Hell with tons of raving reviews for mango use some of those quotes on ads.
@ ThaRebeliouZ - thanks for the feedback. You should connect with @benthepcguy on twitter. He's our big phone evangelist.