Microsoft Learning insults Exchange professionals with simply awful video

After viewing their latest video, posted on July 14, that announced that the Exchange 2013 certification exams have been updated for Exchange 2013 SP1, I conclude that the people running whatever part of Microsoft Learning (MSL) responsible for this production have been exposed to some potent mind-altering material.

Seriously folks, do you believe that Exchange professionals are likely to be impressed by what appears to be a bad sketch from an below-par episode of “Sesame Street”? Does anyone in MSL really have a strong opinion that news about a serious certification topic is best communicated by a character awkwardly posing as “Psychomagician”?

I realize that I am not a training professional, but I have been involved in a lot of training over the years from delivery through executive sponsorship. All I can say about this particular production is that it is the silliest method ever selected as a communication vehicle.

I can’t imagine how MSL has sold this internally within Microsoft either. Has MSL told the Exchange product group, for instance, that they’ve discovered a great new way of reaching out to inform and delight all of the people who have either taken or are considering taking the 70-341 (Core solutions of Microsoft Exchange 2013) and 70-342 (Advanced solutions of Microsoft Exchange 2013) exams? I think not.

The exams are for “IT professionals.” It would be nice if MSL treated those professionals with a modicum of respect instead of this bad attempt at a children’s daytime TV show. I despair when I see things like this happen because it indicates a certain contempt towards the people whose careers are based on Exchange.

But then again, what have we come to expect from MSL? These are the people after all who cancelled the Microsoft Certified Masters (MCM) program a year ago and have not come up with a replacement that delivers even an iota of the level of knowledge and experience that MCM allowed Exchange professionals to accumulate.

Update (July 15): To their credit, MSL contacted me soon after this post appeared. To their further credit, they have removed the offending video and the blog post about the updates to Exchange 2013 exam material is now text-only. You can still view the offending video on YouTube, if you really must.

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