This article is more than 1 year old

Microsoft spikes GigJam collaboration tool before it leaves Preview

Tool to 'spontaneously and ephemerally involve others in your work' hits existential crisis

Microsoft has spontaneously and ephemerally killed GigJam, a collaboration tool it billed as empowering “people with a co-working mindset” to “spontaneously and ephemerally involve others in your work.”

Redmond only revealed the GigJam preview in June 2016, promising it would soon become a new member of the Office family and enhance the suite by letting users share short snippets of documents on mobile devices.

Microsoft's launch day blog post featured excited customers saying things like “with GigJam I can focus someone on what they need to know and nothing more” or “At conferences, I’m stuck handing my device back and forth, worrying about the other person seeing something I don’t want them to. It’s a missed opportunity and not an ideal way to involve people. GigJam allows me to involve others while retaining full control.”

Those quotes are vastly more extensive than the death notice for the application, which Microsoft has given the Orwellian title “Update on the GigJam Preview”.

The notification says that “After careful consideration, we’ve decided to retire the GigJam Preview on September 22, 2017” but doesn't say why. The bad news is that “During the Preview, gigs had a default lifespan of seven days. Effective September 22, any remaining gigs will automatically expire.”

If you really liked GigJam, the good new is that Microsoft says “the Preview delivered learnings and insights that will inform future product experiences.”

Which products, and when, hasn't been revealed. ®

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like