Microsoft, in an internal video that leaked from the company’s Global Exchange sales conference, took Gmail to task for, what it claims to be, abuse of the data of its users.
The company uses this sort of short ‘sales clip’ to show its teams what the corporate opinion on the competition is, and often does so in a manner that is not meant for public consumption. Happily, ZDNet managed to get a hold of the following clip, and have dubbed it legit, even as Microsoft refuses to comment.
The video itself has two main components: Gmail reads your mail, which it should not, and secondly that it does a poor job of serving up relevent advertisements. We’ll talk about each point after the show. Get watching:
Of course, Microsoft can’t help but plug its own Office 365, but that is less the point of the video than Gmail being some sort of bogeyman. While the clip is humorous, it’s not particularly encouraging. The video shows a slightly out of touch Microsoft, a company that does not seem to understand that consumers, and small and medium-sized businesses are not irked but what Gmail does with their email, small indignant girl actors aside.
Certainly, Office 365 is a strong productivity solution, but to promote it against this specific issue is a bit asinine. Instead of arguing on a feature by feature basis, Microsoft is rehashing an issue that is, for all intents and purposes, over.
Oh, and that lengthy joke about Gmail serving up ads that are not relevant? That simply does not jive with experience, does it? Whatever the case, the clip is funny, but it appears that Microsoft is laughing a bit too soon, and a bit too much.
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