Ed Bott hits back at Office 12 team

In yesterday’s post, we had Robert Scoble eulogizing Microsoft’s new Office 12, now in beta, v.1. In response to Scoble’s original post, Ed Bott complains about the Office non-disclosure agreement (NDA):

I’d love to say the same, except I can’t. As I pointed out yesterday, the terms of the Office 12 confidentiality agreement prohibit me from discussing any aspect of the product. This information blackout applies to everyone except Microsoft employees, apparently.

Oh dear, nobody likes an NDA, especially a blogger. But, hey, how come Scoble gets to post about it? He’s a Microsoft employee. I suppose they must make exceptions for Royalty.

But Ed has a point. He makes a great case here:

Now, I know some very senior members of the Office group read this blog, so this is addressed to them: Loosen up! Give us a chance to give you some feedback in public. Sure, you’ll hear a few criticisms, some of which might make you want to change the product. You’ll also get a priceless boost in public awareness of a product that has the potential to be very, very popular.

Scoble’s response? “I’ll talk to the team about that. I think NDAs are often too restrictive and are ultimately counterproductive.”

Another small victory for blogging, I fancy.