Sorry, but Live Isn't Dead
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Now why is it some bloggers and news sites are writing Windows Live's epitaph, when the body is still warm? |
Last week, I followed some blog buzz and, on Saturday, a New York Times story suggesting Windows Live is on the way out and MSN is on the way back in. Last week, I briefly rebutted this absurd position, before the Times story appeared.
The Times story suggests that Microsoft Senior Vice President Steve Berkowitz hasn't "decided what to do about" the Live brand name, like he has the power to change it. Uh, I don't think so. Microsoft fiercely debated the Live brand for about a year before bringing it to market--and there was a ton of market research done in the process. A change like that requires approval at the highest levels of the organization. Of course, that assumes Berkowitz is even responsible for Live, as the Times story insinuates.
Dare Obasanjo has posted an appropriate response to the Times story. Obsanjo focuses on the "implicit yet incorrect assumption carried throughout the article. The assumption is that Steve Berkowitz runs Windows Live." He corrects, "Berkowitz owns the sales, marketing and business aspects of Windows Live but not the products themselves. Steven Sinofsky and his subordinates, specifically Chris Jones and Christopher Payne, are responsible for Windows Live." Obasanjo is correct.
Looks to me like Microsoft has Berkowitz out on the press junket, which would explain the Times story and blogs suggesting a MSN revival. It makes sense that Berkowitz's talk would focus on portals and search, which he knows well from his role as CEO of Ask (Whatever happened to Jeeves?). His big talk about MSN doesn't mean major revival, nor does it mean Live is dead.
Search, for all it's importance, is overrated as the metric of online success. I assume that as the executive responsible for marketing MSN and Live, Berkowitz understands this. What also matters is how much time consumers spend on a Web property. Google may have the big search numbers--45.4 percent of the U.S. search engine market in October, according to ComScore--but its site is more of a way station to other destinations. People search and click through to somewhere else.
Portals like AOL, MSN and Yahoo hold attention, meaning people go there and stay for X period of time. According to Nielsen/NetRatings, Internet users spent nearly five-and-a-half hours at AOL-branded sites in September. Yahoo captured the second position, at three hours and nine minutes, followed by MySpace with two hours and four minutes. MSN/Windows Live, with one hour and forty-six minutes, nipped ahead of eBay by six minutes. By contrast, Internet users spent only about 62 minutes at Google-branded sites.
I don't doubt Berkowtiz wants the eyeballs--and for as long as he can keep them. Google's search and ad-serving business is one measure of success. But Microsoft has a stronger portal strategy and lots of connected products and services, a foundation for capturing more of people's time online.
As for the future of Live, I do expect changes ahead. Windows Live has moved into a product and messaging lull, although marketing continues. Windows Live is a sponsor of SciFi Channel's "Lost Room" miniseries this week (is there some Mensa connection I'm missing--a lost room and Live search?). I do expect strategic adjustments next year, particularly as Microsoft seeks to better define Live's role with respect to Office 2007 and Windows Vista. Additonally, Microsoft launched Live about a year ago, and this would be right time for major evaluation of progress and any directional adjustments. Those evaluations would be a long way from Live being dead.
Comments (14)
Why do they call it Windows(the name of one of their products) Live? shouldnt it be something like Microsoft Live? They still havnt changed MSN Groups to Live Groups, will they ever? i hope so
Posted by puppet | December 13, 2006 1:00 AM
Yes, I think Live is dead. An accidentally close of a tab and my whole stock list is gone, I wonder if the people who wrote the code actually run it.
I move to Google Finance and am very happy so far.
PS: If I am the boss of the MSN page, I can revive it because it needs heavy retouch, not abandon.
Posted by DP | December 13, 2006 3:25 AM
well if it's going to be call live it need s to be life like 3d or 4d mean the web pages.
Posted by Matt Vandivier | December 13, 2006 5:45 AM
Windows Live is a Joke, all they have done is to try to copy Googles web site. The layout is almost the same. If the want people to go to their site the need to offer something that Google doesn't. People aren't going to switch just because Microsoft has a web page that looks like googles.
Posted by Sock Puppet | December 13, 2006 10:23 AM
Sock,
I couldn't agree with you more. I just posted those same thoughts on my blog.
http://blog.jexed.com
Posted by Jexed | December 13, 2006 10:52 AM
I switched back to Hotmail AND also switched back to Messenger 7.0. Couldn't access my email, kept getting errors. I contacted support and they basically sent me a form letter saying how wonderful the new product is and if I have any more problems to contact them, but no solution. Once I switched back they sent one asking for my opinion in a poll so I gave it to them. Haven't heard from them since so I bailed on Live completely. The old stuff still works better.
Posted by Rick | December 13, 2006 8:25 PM
sock and the spamming jexed says live is no good, and people say it's copying its competitors.
well, i can say this. live local maps totally and utterly kicks google map's butt. the right click to add push pins, and in browser annotation, saving annotations and routes, and general usability are totally amazing. Yes, shame about the lack of support for all functionality in non IE browsers, and it is a bit slow at loading images sometimes compared to browsers. But generally there's continued innovation happening there and we're seeing that innovation being copied at google... not the other way round. Considering live is a relatively new entity (although some of the solutions are rebranding), and microsoft have put in a lot of excellent work since the launch. Just keep up the energy, and improve what's already there, and it will become more and more popular.
Posted by jrb | December 14, 2006 9:22 AM
sock and the spamming jexed says live is no good, and people say it's copying its competitors.
well, i can say this. live local maps totally and utterly kicks google map's butt. the right click to add push pins, and in browser annotation, saving annotations and routes, and general usability are totally amazing. Yes, shame about the lack of support for all functionality in non IE browsers, and it is a bit slow at loading images sometimes compared to browsers. But generally there's continued innovation happening there and we're seeing that innovation being copied at google... not the other way round. Considering live is a relatively new entity (although some of the solutions are rebranding), and microsoft have put in a lot of excellent work since the launch. Just keep up the energy, and improve what's already there, and it will become more and more popular.
Posted by jrb | December 14, 2006 9:47 AM
sorry for the double post.
Posted by jrb | December 14, 2006 9:48 AM
maybe the program needs defibrilating
Posted by R h | December 15, 2006 11:17 AM
maybe the program needs defibrilating
Posted by R h | December 15, 2006 11:17 AM
maybe the program needs defibrilating
Posted by R h | December 15, 2006 11:18 AM
You are telling me that my present operating system (xp-home)in very near 5 years and it still has as many holes & DSO exploits than alpine lace swiss cheese and the spyware program is nearly as 2000& M.E that MS is expecting me to dole out even more money for a system that may reqire A "Grim Tuesday) every 2nd week of the month to load hard drive wasting patches on a good month
which currently is a large file.To top it off The security "defender stinks)It couldn't find an elephant in a closet.I.E 7 still has it's share of problems .The only thing that works right is "live messenger",sometimes.Damn I miss win 95.
I can't believe I stayed loyal to MS after being a Netscape beta tester.May Windows live die a short death as M.E. Now hotmail is doomed too.
Posted by george struhar | December 25, 2006 8:21 AM
Joe,
What do you make of this?: http://blogs.conchango.com/jamiethomson/archive/2007/05/11/Windows-Live_3A00_-A-new-Live-Search-page.aspx
-Jamie
Posted by Jamie Thomson | May 11, 2007 2:45 AM