Invitation system

An invitation system is a method of encouraging people to join an organization, such as a club or a website. In regular society, it refers to any system whereby new members are chosen; they cannot simply apply. In relation to websites and other technology-related organisations, the term refers to a more specific situation whereby invitations are sent, but there is never any approval needed from other members. Popular alternatives to this specific version are open registration and closed registration. Open registration is where any user can freely join. Closed registration involves an existing member recommending a new member and approval is sought amongst the existing members. The basis of the invitation system is that a member can grant approval to a new user without having to consult any other members.

Existing members may receive a set number of invitations (sometimes in the form of tokens) to allow others to join the service. Those invited to a website are typically sent either a specialized URL or a single-use pass code.

Microsoft Garage

The Microsoft Garage is a Microsoft project lab that lets employees work on projects that often have no relation to their primary function within the company, and has been compared to Google's "20% time" initiative. The physical location of the Microsoft Garage is Bill Gates' former office on the Microsoft campus, and employees from all divisions of Microsoft are free to take part in Microsoft Garage in their off-duty time. It contains a hardware workshop as well as an actual working garage door. The Microsoft Garage's official motto is "Do epic s--t". It was made public via the Microsoft Garage website in October 2014 as a part of opening up Microsoft's software development to the public. At the Microsoft Garage website, people are invited to try out the latest experimental applications developed by Microsoft.

Projects developed in Microsoft Garage may or may not become a part of Microsoft's product offerings, depending on the success achieved in testing.

History

The Microsoft Garage originated as an offshoot of Office Labs in 2009. The central idea during the nascent period of the Microsoft Garage (2009-2014) was based on the fact that many tech companies were "started in a garage". As Microsoft is an old tech company, they needed a safe space where employees could "fail fast". After the 2014 worldwide hackathon, an event that drew over 10,000 Microsoft employees and interns, the Garage community expanded to a pathway to move small scale ideas forward.