What Microsoft and MySpace Have in Common

So I blasted MySpace in my last post, maybe a little too harshly, but as you can tell, it’s not my favorite site. Well, this weekend, I was the proud recipient of my dad’s old iPhone (he upgraded to the new 3G), and while I was excited, I was not prepared for how amazing this piece of technology truly is.

What’s that got to do with Microsoft? I found myself marveling at my iPhone and thinking, “Wow, if this is so incredible, imagine what it must be like to have an entire computer by these folks.” I mean, I’ve worked on Macs before, but it’s been years, and at the time I didn’t care for it. I remember frustratingly trying to take a disk (remember those ) out of the disk drive, but could not find a way, as there was no release on the drive (OK, Mac users you know you have to eject it on screen, maybe still do). It did not seem intuitive and I am definitely a fan of intuitive/user friendly (thus my allegiance to Facebook).

I’ve been growingly disappointed with Microsoft over the last couple years. To me, like MySpace, they are becoming reactive in keeping up with the times instead of taking the lead and setting the pace. Apple and Facebook are both good examples of companies who have been the leaders in innovation, creating products that match the way people interact and function.

Microsoft seems like a stodgy old guy who just won’t stop arguing his point, even though everyone else in the room, except maybe a few of his longtime comrades, has moved on to another point entirely. I guess Apple pretty much nailed it in the Mac vs. PC commercials.

I mean compare Firefox to Internet Explorer. There’s a world of different. Microsoft has missed the boat on open source code, which allows for third-parties to create applications to work with its systems. Facebook was the first (I believe) to welcome this idea with open arms, Firefox did the same. Now, iPhone has followed suit (albeit after initially not allowing its code to be open source, but kudos to Apple for listening to people and changing course). This is the way of the Web and computing, so get on the bandwagon, or better yet, come up with some cool ideas of your own that makes living, and computing, more fun and functional.

Now, before I close, Microsoft is taking some steps in this direction, which I will discuss in my next post. We’ll see if you think it’s enough or if Microsoft will eventually go the way of the floppy disk.