Why talk about this competition?#
As an independent participant, I was fortunate enough to win third place in this competition (of course, it was mostly luck, but there were also some methodologies). As for the prizes of the competition, I was originally more interested in the Microsoft internship opportunity. However, probably due to the internet winter, there was no follow-up at all. No one contacted me about the internship, and I also asked the staff in charge of the competition and inquired in the group, but there was no response.
Award situation#
Third prize, which is third place, with a prize of 5000 after tax, 4000, and a bunch of physical prizes. There is also a nice glass trophy. Then I went to treat my roommate to a buffet.
The delivered package was so big that I was exhausted carrying it back to the dormitory alone.
I don't know if it's 11.4 kilograms or 11.4 pounds. I hope it's not 11.4 pounds, or else I'll be exhausted carrying it.
What is this competition?#
Participants choose to develop based on the main theme of "Changes and Challenges in the Post-Epidemic Era," focusing on three sub-themes: "Technology Improving Life," "Empowering Productivity," and "Diversity and Inclusion." They develop creative plug-ins to help us see a bigger world.
The official website of this competition, https://edgecontest.microsoft.com/index.html, is currently inaccessible. From this, we can speculate that this competition was organized by the Edge China team to enrich the extension ecosystem of the Edge browser.
Some competition information#
Here are some brief and key information that will help with my analysis of the competition.
Methodology derived from analysis#
Lightweight technology#
By analyzing the four requirements mentioned in the competition information, as a technical enthusiast, what can I see at a glance? There are no technical requirements! This type of competition, where a project needs to be completed within a certain period of time, is indeed very difficult to complete high-demand technical projects. Everyone's technical abilities are not much different. So we don't need to focus on technical skills.
Product ability#
Practicality, ease of use, aesthetics, and innovation are all aspects of product ability. I had just started developing my product ability not long before that, so I decided to give this competition a try. And product ability happens to be the ability to overtake in bends within a competition. Because many participants in the competition are technical players, I really can't compete with them in terms of technical skills.
Comprehensive ability#
In addition to the product itself, the competition also requires making PPTs, videos, and so on. The output and launch of the product can also earn extra points. This requires action and marketing skills. I usually like to read articles written by product people, so I can roughly guess what the judges as product reviewers like to see and write in that direction. Besides, as a personal participant, I need comprehensive abilities because it is a project that needs to be planned and launched.
My project#
I only found out about this competition a few days before the submission deadline when a group member mentioned it in the group (thank you very much to that group member, otherwise I would have had no idea).
I thought to myself, how can I participate with only a few days left? I'll just go with the flow! But I can't completely slack off, so I had to do some analysis. That's where the previous section came in. However, at that time, I didn't analyze it in such detail. I just briefly looked at the official website and made decisions based on my instincts.
Next, let me introduce my competition project and some of my thoughts at the time.
Meteor New Tab#
Before this#
Xiaoshu encountered several problems at that time:
- The naming was not straightforward enough, making it difficult to instantly understand the meaning of the names. After all, when I named it, I was constantly reading literary works and had a literary consciousness.
- The interface lacked a sense of technology because I wanted to create a comfortable and Zen-like feeling.
- In order to give the product a spiritual power, I used some more whimsical slogans and promotions. It wasn't straightforward enough!
- The product design did not meet the requirement of simplicity. The tile layout format did not meet everyone's needs.
Several thoughts at that time#
- English name for a more technological feel
- Interface design with a more technological feel
- Product name that is more straightforward
- Slogans that are more straightforward, rather than conveying ideas
- Product description that is more straightforward, rather than conveying ideas
Project summary#
Overall, the competition project was mainly based on the secondary creation of Xiaoshu. Different products were created for different markets, with different images and styles. Meteor is still being maintained today and is evolving further away from Xiaoshu. I hope these twin brothers will each have their own characteristics.
Conclusion#
I consider myself very lucky because there are few competitions like this where there are many product managers as judges. I have also experienced competitions like "Internet+" before, and I felt that the judges did not have the aura of product people. I felt a bit out of place in "Internet+," and I only sent it after winning a school award. The teacher later comforted me, saying that I didn't present the PPT well and wasn't polite enough during the defense.
This competition happened to focus on areas that suit me, and it's rare to have such a competition. So I am very lucky, and it is because of this luck that I was able to achieve these results as an individual participant. If I were to participate in an algorithm competition, I probably wouldn't achieve good results. Of course, I hope to have more open and diverse competitions like this in the future. But I think I won't have the opportunity anymore because I'm about to graduate. Looking back at my campus life, it wasn't very exciting, just plain and ordinary.