Two Hundred Days Later: Thoughts on the Microsoft Edge Extension Contest

Why Talk About This Contest

As an independent participant, I was lucky to win third place (largely luck, though there were some methods too). I cared most about the Microsoft internship opportunity, but I suspect it was canceled because of the tech winter. There was no follow-up at all. Nobody contacted me about internships. I asked the contest staff and asked in the group, but got nothing.

Awards

Third prize, with 5,000 RMB prize money, 4,000 after tax, plus a bunch of physical prizes. There was also a nice glass trophy. I took my roommates to an all-you-can-eat buffet.

The delivery package was huge. Carrying it back to the dorm nearly killed me.

Not sure if it was 11.4 kg or 11.4 jin. 11.4 jin shouldn’t be enough to exhaust me, right?

What Is This Contest

Participants developed creative extensions under the big theme of “Changes and Challenges in the Post-Pandemic Era,” focusing on three categories: “Technology improves life,” “Empowering productivity,” and “Diversity & inclusion.” The goal was to build extensions that help us see a wider world.

The contest website https://edgecontest.microsoft.com/index.html is now inaccessible. This suggests it was organized by the Edge China team to enrich the Edge extension ecosystem.

Some Contest Info

Below are brief but key details that help with the analysis later.

Methods From the Analysis

Lightweight Tech

Looking at the four requirements, as a tech generalist I could see: there were basically no technical requirements. In a contest with a tight deadline, it’s hard to do something highly technical. People’s tech ability won’t differ much, so we shouldn’t focus on tech depth.

Product Ability

Practicality, usability, aesthetics, innovation - this is product ability. I had just started cultivating product skills then, so it was a good chance to test. Product ability is a way to overtake in this contest, because many participants are purely technical, and I couldn’t beat them there.

Emphasis on Overall Ability

Besides the product, the contest required PPTs, videos, etc. Product output and publishing also add points. This requires execution and marketing ability. I usually read product articles, so I can roughly guess what product judges like to see, and I write accordingly. Also, as a solo participant, a project from planning to launch demands comprehensive abilities.

My Project

I only learned about the contest a few days before the deadline. A group friend mentioned it. (Thanks a lot, otherwise I wouldn’t have known.)

I thought: how can I join in a few days? Let’s just do it! But I couldn’t totally slack off, so I did some analysis, which led to the previous section. At the time I wasn’t as detailed, just glanced at the site and made instinctive decisions.

Next, here’s my contest project and my thinking at the time.

Meteor New Tab

Before That

Xiaoshu Student had a few issues then:

• The name wasn’t straightforward enough, making it hard to understand. I was reading lots of literature when naming it, so it was a bit “literary.”
• The UI didn’t feel techy; I wanted a comfortable, Zen feel.
• To give it “spiritual power,” I used some willful slogans and marketing. Not direct enough.
• The design didn’t satisfy minimalism. A tiled layout doesn’t work for everyone.

My Thoughts at the Time

• English name, more techy
• More techy UI design
• More straightforward product name
• A more straightforward slogan, instead of conveying a concept
• A more straightforward product description, instead of conveying a concept

Project Summary

Overall, the contest project was a second creation based on Xiaoshu Student. For different markets, build a different product image with a different vibe. Meteor is still maintained today and is growing further away from Xiaoshu Student. I hope these twins can each have their own personality.

Overall Summary

I think I was very lucky. Contests like this are rare, and the judges were mostly product managers. I had experienced “Internet+” contests before, and the judges didn’t feel like product people. I didn’t fit in there either and only got a school-level prize. The teacher later said my PPT and defense weren’t good enough.

This contest fit me well, so I was lucky. As a solo participant, I could get this result. If you asked me to do an algorithm contest, I’d probably get nothing.

I hope there will be more open, diverse contests like this. But I probably won’t get the chance. I’m about to graduate. Looking back at campus life, it wasn’t very exciting - it was so plain.