During the last year on Next at Microsoft we’ve published over 400 posts. We’ve had some real hits in terms of views, sharing and comments and I’ll highlight some of those tomorrow. It’s Turkey day here in the US though so I thought I’d give a nod to some of the posts that didn’t quite work out as I’d expected. So if you’ve enjoyed a meal of turkey today, here’s a dessert of sorts as we trail through some of our less successful posts.
Shedding light in a novel way is a post that maybe didn’t get the views it deserved as it was somewhat unusual. Did you know that a plastic bottle, filled with clean water and a some bleach when suspended in direct light can deliver the same light as a 50-watt bulb?
Communication is about giving gifts that oblige others to respond was a great example of a post where I over complicated the title. It should have been something like – a new magazine from Microsoft Research.
A post titled Forza Motorsport 4 Trailer attracted surprisingly little views back in July – but the posts on Forza during October were a hit. It’s all about timing!
One post back in July that was a turkey I’m happy about was The breadth of Microsoft’s business – mainly as it includes a shocking photo of me from my hot seat the WorldWide Partner Conference in LA. The content of the post was fine I think, maybe the image scared people off 
The future of technology – for just $0.99 – links to a book from Microsoft Research titled The Fourth Paradigm and while that may not sound riveting, it’s a great read about where the future of technology lies. What’s more, it’s free!!
A post I really wish had attracted more views was Microsoft Local Impact Map gets a facelift – Bing style as it showcases a great website, built on Azure, that tracks projects around the globe that Microsoft is involved in. It’s home to well over a thousand great stories.
And finally, a number of the posts from almost a year ago are languishing in the low viewers bracket – perhaps as we were so new but some are still greats reads so while you’re chomping down a turkey sandwich tomorrow, check out one or more of these
- The story behind Kinect
- Microsoft Factory Tour–the anechoic chamber
- Microsoft Research– free holiday booty
- Snowboards, skis, Xbox, Bing, Windows, Netflix and more…
- Tools of the trade: Lindsey Kujawski, Microsoft fashionista
Happy Thanksgiving and once you’re shopping is done be sure to check back tomorrow for a top 10 list of posts from the last year!
