MattCreamer.com

The big speaker was Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer who’s trying to change the business community’s view of Microsoft from a stodgy software-maker to a media innovator that’s at the center of digital future. In other words, Microsoft is trying to become a full-fledged ad seller. Ballmer, of course, is bumping up against the perception that he’s already running far behind, especially in the search wars where his outfit’s been trounced by Google.

The always-intense Ballmer laid out of vision of the ad and media world that’s hyper-targeted, automated, customizable and accountable and I didn’t disagree with any of his main points. Problem was, there was too much future-casting for a business that needs to be focused on the here and now. The subtext was almost that Microsoft is ceding the present (to Google perhaps?) and looking ten years down the road. That’s too far down the line for folks faced with quarterly targets and all manner of other short-term pressures.