How Microsoft Can Make Zune a Success

jcatcw writes "Zune had potential, but 5 months in it barely gets passing grades. According to the article, there are five things Microsoft must change: 1) The built-in Wi-Fi, aka 'the social,' was a bad idea. 2) Tell newbies what it can do. 3) Create a low-end, flash-based player. 4) Push subscriptions. 5) Make it sexy. A Microsoft representative said, about the wireless concept: 'We felt we were addressing the social aspect of music, and the research we've done has shown that people understand the concept that wireless enables sharing ... but the tagline, while provocative, hasn't meant a lot to consumers.'"

Comments

Re:Do like they do with everything else...

[Foofoobar]

You and I must have two different definitions of reading. You do realize that aside from just pronouncing the words, you must also understand what you are saying, right? Oh geez what am I saying, of course you don't realize that or else we wouldn't still be having this conversation...heh.

Good, but not what they are doing.

[twitter]

In fact, it has been all but ordered that people at the company participate in online communities daily and maintain their own blogs (especially on the Microsoft sites).

That would be good, but I'm afraid their PR machine does not work this way. It would be great if actual M$ employees were here reading what people really think and how quickly their company's propaganda is torn to pieces. They would quickly learn what about the rotten things their company does and M$ would be forced to change or loose people to competitors like Google. As Steve Ballmer brainwashed his own kids to avoid Google and iPod and other best of class things, I imagine Slashdot viewing is forbidden and that people posting for M$ are nothing more than paid PR and harassment droids.

I speculate that M$ has farmed out all of their dirty work. I'm sure M$ wants their people doing the job they pay them for. Second, they don't have enough people there to make a dent on a place like Slashdot. The basics of their techniques were worked out in the Steve Barkto and DRDOS cases: slam the competitor and encourage M$ use. The Apple Switcher and anti-trust astroturfing of legislators are both examples of where they have hired firms for questionable marketing. Questionable stuff like harassment by dorks like:

• This
• This
• This
• This

It does not really work, however. The circle of harassment is growing as fast as interest in other platforms and the two are linked. At some point the pawns get it.