Thread by @elizejackson

I have been thinking a lot about how @alexhaagaard and I advise corporate employees to #ResistTheAnnouncement. The new Microsoft Surface Adaptive Kit offers an excellent case study as to why.

In 2019, Microsoft announced the Xbox Adaptive Controller through a massive holiday ad campaign. They then followed it up with a Super Bowl ad. The Xbox Adaptive Controller was absolutely everywhere.

Since that time, there has been little mention of the Xbox Adaptive Controller, and it has mostly faded from the public consciousness. So much so, that it led me to ask this question:

https://twitter.com/elizejackson/status/1402814645099012100

We knew immediately that Microsoft's decision to market the Xbox Adaptive Controller to and through children was a mistake. I imagine how infantilizing that must have felt to the badass disabled #AbleGamers who fought for and created this product. criticalaxis.org/critique/we-al…

Since that time, things have been fairly quiet on the Microsoft 'Inclusive Design' front. Until recently, when Microsoft announced their new Surface Adaptive Kit, of colorful and tactile stickers you can put on your computer. support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/…

Microsoft had a fairly extensive announcement, though not to the scale of the Adaptive Controller. For about 48 hours nearly every tech and design publication that exists espoused Microsoft's talking points. Including Microsoft's favorite, Fast Company:

https://twitter.com/elizejackson/status/1441397100982374404

Despite their storied history, Fast Company wrote something that makes me laugh every time I read it: "Yes, that’s a lot of effort put into what’s essentially a pile of stickers."

In my purview, the Surface Adapter Kit is evidence of a massive revocation of resources and traction inside of Microsoft.

This is why it is imperative to #ResistTheAnnouncement. Microsoft went from selling a community driven Adaptive Controller to a sticker kit that will inevitably end up in swag bags at some future inclusion conference. I imagine morale must be quite low at Microsoft these days.