Web 2.0 Summit - Steve Ballmer.
Posted on October 23rd, 2007 by Simon ChenI gotta say first up that I actually really enjoyed this session. I’ll also say straight up that I’m not a huge fan of Microsoft nor Steve Ballmer, only because I think that after 30 years of making software - they still can’t get it right. With 80,000 employees and $23 billion in the bank, it just shouldn’t take 5 years to release a new version of software. And it certainly shouldn’t be hard to use. Think about it logically - to shut Windows down, you have to go the “start” icon.
And maybe, unfairly, through several parts of the media - Steve is portrayed as an arrogant prick. Which he can be.
Not all billionaries are though. John Doerr is a perfect example of a guy who is so passionate and endearing, that he redefines charm and charisma (more on him later).
If the majority of us, whether we be corporate or personal users, only use 10% of what a Windows application is capable of (like Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint), then why can’t Microsoft make a “Windows Light” version. A version which doesn’t crash, which doesn’t require one whole gig of RAM to operate well and one that’s as intuitive as any Apple application.
Anyway.
John Battelle jumps straight into the interview and asks Ballmer how’s the financing going for Facebook. He deflects the question like a seasoned pro, obviously knowing a whole lot more than he’s prepared to let on in front of 1200 rabid industry folk. Apparently, according to multiple blogs, there’s an all hands meeting at Facebook tomorrow (Tues US time) where it’s rumoured that an announcement will be made re the next step at Facebook as far as funding is concerned.
Something just tells me that Google has to be involved somehow - and it’s got nothing to do with the fact that I was at Google late Friday afternoon last week and heard a few whispers. Sadly, the whispers were about something else.
Back to Steve. He was relaxed, even as Battelle started to probe about search. And this is when, while he erupted, he erupted in excitement and flair, which is classic Ballmer. It’s also where respected news agencies such as the Associated Press got it all wrong and had to retract a story, whereby they indicated Ballmer referred to Google as a “precocious tot”.
In fact, he was referring to his own set of kids at Microsoft. Not Google.
It was a little funny, as Battelle started to talk about search and Steve’s “one trick pony” comment, Ballmer still refused to actually refer to Google as Google. He’d rather just say “the leader in search”.
Battelle went on, “Let’s talk about search. Is it one of those kids who you privately take out the back and smack on the back of the head and say “Do better in school, Jimmy…”"
Ballmer’s response caused the audience to cheer wholeheartedly. Even the harshest of critics would have had a smile on their face. The footage is here - at the 21 minute mark of the Battelle/Ballmer interview. It’s worth watching.
Because of the interview, my perception of him and of the company has changed. And that’s a good thing. Not that anyone should care. But this interview has gained a lot of exposure. And if you previously vowed that Microsoft would be the last place on earth you would want to work, given all the options open today in the tech sector, maybe, just maybe after watching this, you might change your mind.
It strikes me that Ballmer would have you convinced after 20 minutes in a one on one interview.
So let me ask you this, after watching the interview from Web 2.0, would YOU work for Microsoft?
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on Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007 at 7:19 am and is filed under Microsoft, Search Engines, Web 2.0.
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February 2nd, 2008 at 3:06 am
[...] their shares at well over half again what the market currently has them worth. The move echoes comments Steve Ballmer made back at the Web 2.0 conference in October last year; people came away Microsoft knew what they had [...]