What Is A Blogger Summit: An Inside Peek At Microsoft #WindowsChampions

Bloggers are invited to brand events or “learning summits” to become educated about their newest products and updates. Accommodations, travel expenses and meals are often provided at the brands expense in exchange for our social media services as well as a few descriptive posts on the brands activities. It is our responsibility (according to the law) to disclose such an exchange so our readers do not feel misled by promoted information. What information we retain and deliver to our audience is generally left up to the blogger to decide how it would best fit with their platform.

It is an excellent marketing strategy with a very real-life feel, especially when you are marketing technological products such as tablets, personal computers and smart phones. With so many options to choose from these days as well as the ever-changing advancements made, it is difficult to discern which device would be the perfect fit. Then after that complexity has been solved, the challenge of actually learning how to use the device begins.

Many of you turn to consumer reports, friends and family, or purchase according to the current sales; but a large majority of readers research online from the day-to-day outlets they have grown to know and love. Bloggers tell their readers their life stories. Their readers know their children, share in their trials and celebrations, and come to value their opinions. Considering you are currently reading this on my blog further validates my point.

Don’t you think a person who is given the title of “Product Ambassador” should know the ins and outs of the products they endorse? I sure think so! Microsoft is a fantastic company and made sure the Windows Champions Ambassadors attending the Summit were well-informed of their products and even took us to the headquarters to see first hand some of their most interesting projects such as GigaPixelArtZoom and the robot personal assistant. The GigaPixelArtZoom is an interactive panoramic image celebrating the Seattle arts. It is wicked cool, and you could spend hours finding people doing strange, fascinating things. You must check it out!

Sometimes the product information delivered is coupled with fun activities utilizing the product as you might in real life. At the #ChampionsSummit, located at Microsoft Headquarters in Seattle; we went on a scavenger hunt in order to teach us all about the One Note. We split into teams and ran around downtown snapping pictures of clues and checking off the tasks as we went. Since one half of the team went in the opposite direction to get everything quickly, we were able to sync our task list through our mobile phones using the app. OneNote also syncs with your home computers and tablets regardless of the operating system.  I really loved the activity and found it is an easy way to find friends!

We also had some free time and traveled to the Snoquamie Falls waterfall . Just listen to us trying to pronounce that one in the video below!

What makes the Snoquamie Falls waterfall so special is the water flows up instead of down. Bet you have never seen that before!

I learned a lot despite all of the fun, so I’ll be posting all kinds of Microsoft tips and tricks throughout the year. If you ever have anything specific you would like to know about, please send me an email! Here are a few of the posts I have already done on various Microsoft products as a Windows Champion!