Well, it’s official, the MS newsgroups are going the way of Microsoft Bob by the end of this year. While I have never hid my feelings for newsgroups or forums I will say that participating in the private MVP newsgroups was one of the benefits I enjoyed the most as an MVP. So, I should be happy about this right? No more need to use Outlook Express to download messages to 3-4 different computers in order to participate in discussions, right?
Not so fast.
See, in order to bridge the gap, we have recently switched to using an email distribution list. Some people love the DL, others…not so much. Count me as one of the not-so-much crowd. This morning I had over 100 unread messages in my inbox. At least with the NNTP I could decide if I wanted to be engaged or not. With the DL I don’t have that option, I am either all in, all the time, or not.
Sure, some people have suggested using a different email address as a solution, but that is not a solution for me because I don’t have access to outside emails from work. So, if I ever need to participate in a discussion from work then I need to use my work email. Sure, I can set up a rule in Outlook to redirect the message but then I still have to manually go through them all at some point.
So, it’s not perfect, at least not yet. But I do think it is a step in the right direction. I am, however, a little confused.
I have been told that Microsoft has this new service, I think it is called Windows Azure. And part of this service is the Business Productivity Online Suite, which includes things like Exchange and Sharepoint. Now, if it were me, I would think that a great way to show off this shiny new toy (as well as get valued feedback) would be to find a way to get your MVPs engaged somehow. Maybe…oh, I don’t know…have them use the collaboration tools you have built in the cloud? Would that not be a better solution than spamming my inbox with hundreds of ‘Hi everyone!’ and out-of-office messages written in different languages?
Would it really have been so difficult to get us into the cloud somehow? We already have Live accounts, right? How hard would it be to configure a sharepoint portal and an exchange mailbox in the cloud for us to use? Instead of sending messages back and forth we could use the collaboration tools to actually collaborate on things. Imagine that! And then we could spread the word about how cool the new stuff from Microsoft is to use.
When I think about how easy it is for me to use free tools that other cloud providers have to offer I shake my head and wonder where the disconnect is over at Microsoft. Either they don’t “get it” yet, or they do “get it” and have simply decided that we aren’t worth the effort.
Or maybe I am the one that doesn’t “get it”.
I’m there with ya on the mailing list only collaboration/community communications position.
What I do for these is set up Outlook rules to do move these mailing list messages to a folder that holds all the messages. Then I set up the view for that folder to optimize viewing by conversation/thread.
Finally, I set up an autoarchive to delete messages automatically, usually with a lower retention level that other folders.
It’s not quite the same as a newsgroup, but it sort of feels that way since the messages don’t remain in your inbox. They are all there, but tucked away in other folder.
yeah, i configured a rule in outlook, but i haven’t gotten around to the custom view yet. and i l-o-v-e the auto delete you have configured. i’ll look to configure that as well.
i still wish i could use a lot of the shiny tools available in Azure…or we could just move everything over to Google…
Even though I am no longer an MVP, I am still in the DL. Having all those emails has increased my stress over the past couple of weeks. I am afraid that some important messages from outside this DL are getting lost.
I would love to be able to see the 5% of interesting messages without wading through all the others. Maybe you should post your Azure idea in Connect.
i’ve heard that part of the advantage to the DL is that we will get more Blue Badge participation, which i think is wonderful. But why won’t MS eat their own dog food here and serve up a private Sharepoint portal for the MVP’s to use? i really think they are missing an opportunity to utilize their strongest advocates by getting them involved with some of their newer offerings.
but hey, that’s just me. i like shiny new things.
Even though I am no longer an MVP, I am still in the DL. Having all those emails has increased my stress over the past couple of weeks. I am afraid that some important messages from outside this DL are getting lost.
I would love to be able to see the 5% of interesting messages without wading through all the others. Maybe you should post your Azure idea in Connect.