Silverlight "SPAM-AD"

Why Microsoft Try To Make Silverlight Popular By "Forcing" People To Download???

I don't know whether we should call this "forcing" people to download, or -- to be more polite -- shall we phrasing it as "encouraging" people to download. But if recently you to go Microsoft website (http://www.microsoft.com), you will be surprised to be "greeted" by the following "annoying banner ad":

Since when business-website being transformed to become such an annoying pop-up-banner ad?.

In our daily digital living space, we are already being "annoyed" by spam and stuff that we don't want, which keep coming at us -- everyday. Microsoft itself is aware such condition and situation, and  is always among the companies that is busy and  actively promoting "anti spam" software,  and anti annoying-pop-up-ad software -- to the world. The whole idea is: Microsoft understand that people (and society as a whole) "hate" getting message that they don't want from the net, no matter how "good" the intention of those "spam" nor "popup" messages would be.

Seth Godin phrase this "permission marketing". Companies shall only  contact and send information to their customers -- through the web, and/or through other channel -- IF their customer already agree for such information to be send to them. ONLY if they allow the company to do such to them.

And yet now somebody out-there start doing this???

Notice how this kind of new "monsterous" banner ad is being made "so smart". It resides on the most popular web-address that people usually come, once the address is chosen it "pops-up" a display dialog, it says "many good things" about the product, ask the customer if they want this, provides a big OK button, YET makes the NO button so small, located in scattered place ... and so difficult to find!, so unless you really look for "NO" very very carefully, the only button that you see is "Click Here To Install"!.

This might seem "smart" initially. But are WE loosing our sense of self respect here, just because companies nowadays suddenly know they can do "just anything" to make their "strategic" product desperately popular??

What is the difference between this kind of "ad" with the spam that populates our email, or pop-up add that clutter our browser??

• Previously our email contains spam ...
• Then our web-browser cluttered by pop-up add ...
• Now our web-sites contains "SPAM-AD" ????

Some "smart" people at Microsoft -- or whoever junkies who come up with this idea -- may be think that this a very innovative brilliant idea to pursue. It will put the product strategically in the marketplace.

But come to think about it carefully:

Do we really want this to be the "standard way" every website operate??

Can we imagine what would happen, if Google do the same thing and approach, and now each time we type "google.com" then google will say: "welcome, have you seen our toyota ad before? no? well would you want to see one? you don't want to? well sorry, we don't provide a "no" button for that? so just click the big button that we provide and enjoy your toyota ad, ... anyway it will make your google experience better"???!!!

Can we imagine how catasthropic our internet experience would become if every popular website around the world done that?

Would Microsoft -- through this approach -- gives the business community a "good" example of how "new kind of spam" can be created??

Should not we then create an "anti-spam" community for that? Ban the website??

Of all things surprising about Microsoft lately, perhaps this is the most surprising "change at heart" that I ever seen ever happen at Microsoft.

I mean:

• Microsoft actively provides Email Anti-Spam: "Hey, your email got a lot of spam? we have a CURE for it -- the Microsoft anti-spam -- and our email system is being designed to be specifically smart to handle it you know".
• Microsoft actively provides Browser Anti-Popup-Window Ad: "Hey, your browser got a lot of pop up? we have a CURE for it -- the IE anti pop-up -- and our browser is being designed to be specifically smart to handle it you know".

yet, ALSO in the words of Microsoft:

• You want to see our www.microsoft.com website? We'll SPAM you first BEFORE you can see it.

Has something major changes lately within Microsoft's heart?

• Has business ethics, and respect for society wellfare and others gone in the market, in the pursue of "greater domination" and nothing else but greater domination"?

• Had we forgotten the "small little stuff" that makes Microsoft so great and loveable in the past for the sake of "Microsot have to pursue the next strategic domination for the sake of domination"?

• Have we lost our senses of how inconvenient our internet experience would be, if every websites turning to become an "oily salesman" pitch service like that, rather than a great "personalized social service" we always love it to be?

Microsoft Silverlight promotion (and distribution) approach might mark one of the latest "ugly" development milestone of how the "ugly" internet could be.

Strong pursue for domination, competitiveness and differentiation is indeed important. It is a strong value system that every business must show. But in the execustion of such spirit, probably "heart" should still be a "guiding light" of what's right and what's wrong. Business at all time, perhaps shall continue remember that no matter what, ethics and to always try to do goods for society is one key essential essence that shall never be forgotten, no matter what.

That's what "traditionally" differentiates good business from the bad one. That's what "traditionally" differentiate "the tiny Microsoft" in the past from the rest of the big ones.

Remembering the 80s and the 90s, Microsoft -- after all -- was a indeed really good and indeed a really great company to be, and to be in love with.

Fast forwarding into today, Microsoft example with their "Silverlight spam-ad" is definitely not a good example of what the internet today nor internet in the future could be. (Internet as a a source of spam ad ?? What an idea!!).

DO NO EVIL, after all perhaps is still one the best (and most important) business mantra -- and business principle -- of all. It is the seed of the many key "little something" that differentiate companies that is  BIG in size and yet really BIG at HEART as well, or company that is SMALL in size-- but BIG at HEART -- from companies that is actually is BIG in size -- but sadly  PUNY at HEART.

Looking at the whole thing in retrospect, some level of re-consciousness might be required within Microsoft camp to see itself back that Microsoft was indeed (and is and could still be) a good, great, BIG HEART company it once was.

It is still not too late for Microsoft to consciously take that BIG HEART approach, and do a LITTLE THING that produce a BIG impact for the whole internet community and the future of the internet as a whole: TAKE OUT that annoying LITTLE ad of the Microsoft site! It is not just dampen Microsoft image as a whole, contradict it to what Microsoft core kind heart was; even worse: it is also "polluting" the internet for the worse.

In all contrary, at least the NO button should be equally easy to find and as easy to locate as the OK button. Even better: to  take that spam-banner-ad approach entirely out!.

We sincerely hope that common care, politeness, humbleness, yet the same aggressiveness is back again emerge in the heart of every Microsoft act. Without that, the "king" seem has just lost its "clothes" that once upon a time makes it really a great and a truly "loveable" dream-"young prince" of everybody in its community.