PowerPoint: The Good and Bad

The jury is still out on PowerPoint as far as I'm concerned.  I can't make up my mind if it is one of those technologies that has changed our life for the better or instead has filled us with fear and loathing.  People seem to dread going to PowerPoint which is a shame because it has so much potential for good.

Last Thursday Kent Blumberg posted a number of links including a great video on how NOT to use PowerPoint (video below).  This is "Life After Death By PowerPoint" by Don McMillan.  It is a great send up of everything wrong you've ever seen in a PowerPoint.  The really funny part about it is that most of it really happens.

In a quirky bit of timing, earlier that week I mentioned to a colleague a presentation (video also below) I'd seen by Dick Hardt, Founder and CEO of Sxip Identity.  This is a great presentation on 2 fronts.  First the topic "Identity 2.0" is very interesting.  Second and most important in terms of this post is that the presentation is simply amazing.  I've never seen anyone give a PowerPoint like this before.  Finally someone has truly tapped in to the potential of of PowerPoint.

Lastly, I've included a bonus video about PowerPoint that you might like.  So on to the videos.

First the "Good", Dick Hardt's keynote presentation at OSCON 2005.

Now for the "Bad", Don McMillan's "Life After Death By PowerPoint.

And finally, to demonstrate just how ingrained into our lives it has become, PowerPoint has it own ballad -- performed of course in PowerPoint by Sarah Schaefer and Eric Marcisak

Isn't technology wonderful? Where would we ever be without it?

Share the pain.  What are you PowerPoint horror stories?

"Welcome To Powerpoint" photo by garethjmsaunders

If this topic was of interest, you might also like these:

• What can we learn from our favorite technologies?
• Realizing the Impact of Technology
• Looking Back - Lessons of the Antikythera Mechanism
• Or the posts in the "Technology" category