Mixing things up

An interesting theme of MIX for me was the blurring of lines between various media and technologies. Is it TV or web? Is it a web page or an application?

Is XBOX really a platform for your software product? What about for marketing your product? Burger King made 3 games for the XBOX, and the promotion was so successful that their profits jumped.

Consider how your target end users spend their days and computing lives. Perhaps making a useful Windows Live Spaces Gadget that has nothing to do with your product's functionality could promote your product to your target market and further establish your brand in your customers' minds. It's not difficult to create them ... your developers might consider it a reward if you asked them to spend a Friday afternoon creating a gadget that THEY wanted but using it to promote YOUR product in a new and creative way.

The buzz from MIX was electric ... it was all about thinking of media, technology, and design in new and creative ways. Silverlight was the star of the show ... in almost every session about every technology, people were asking "Can I use Silverlight here?" (example: putting Silverlight in an IFRAME within CRM.)

It was a great show, and I'll be following up with more highlights over the next few days, but now it's time to head home. I hope to see you at MIX next year!