Microsoft's free digital storytelling tool Sway is in general availability mode

Source: Microsoft. A Sway screen.

Microsoft's free digital storytelling tool Sway is moving from the 'preview' stage to 'general availability', indicating that it is ready for mass use. Sway is a digital storytelling tool that uses a built-in design engine to integrate ideas and raw content into a cohesive layout that makes the content flow together well across devices.

Consumers can now use Sway for free as long as they have a Microsoft account. Sway is also rolling out to all eligible* Office 365 for business and education customers worldwide**. Businesses, schools and other organisations can use Sway to create and share interactive reports, presentations, assignments, lessons, projects, and more.

In business, professionals have been using Sway to save time at work and easily create interactive reports, presentations, newsletters, training and more. Sway can for example showcase a custom solution, share expense report training or attract customers with marketing materials.

Key highlights include:

·  Sways can be written in languages that the user interface does not support.

· Consumers can share their Sways on the newly relaunched Docs.com. 

· Sway for Windows 10 is now available as an app in the Windows Store with new layout and publishing capabilities in 39 languages including English, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Bahasa Indonesia, Japanese, Korean and Malay.

· Sway is also now available on iPad and iPhone in 29 languages including Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, Bahasa Indonesia, Japanese, Korean and Malay.

· Sway for Windows Phones will arrive in the coming months.

Interested?

Sway is available on the web at Sway.com and is free. Sway.com is accessible worldwide without restriction
Read the official Office blog post on the general availability of Sway 

Explore the Sway product guide (made with Sway)

*Sway is available to most customers with an Office 365 plan that includes Office Online, Office 365 Business, or Office 365 ProPlus. For Government Community Cloud (GCC) customers and customers in certain geographies, Sway will be made available at a later date. Some legacy Office 365 plans that are no longer in market as of August 2015 may not have access to Sway.

**Sway for Windows is now available in 214 markets: Åland Islands, Albania, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antarctica, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bonaire, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bouvet Island, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Colombia, Republic of Congo, Congo (DRC), Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji Islands, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Channel Islands – Guernsey, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Honduras, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Channel Islands – Jersey, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau SAR, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Poland, Portugal, Réunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Saint Helena, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, United States Minor Outlying Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Brief Lab launches online certification programme

The Brief Lab, an institute that helps professionals gain mastery as lean communicators, celebrates its first anniversary with a new website and the launch of its first online certification programme, Brief Practitioner. 

Source: The Brief Lab website.

The Brief Practitioner curriculum is for professionals who want to join the "less-is-more" movement by becoming certified in a systematic approach to becoming lean communicators. The online course is designed for individuals who want to be change agents, spreading the methodology throughout their organisations. 

Buried in information and barraged by non-stop interruptions, the company says attention spans have dropped to 8 seconds. "Brevity requires three skills: awareness, discipline and decisiveness," said Joe McCormack, MD of The Brief Lab and author of Brief. "The Brief Practitioner curriculum is actionable, and participants will notice an immediate difference in their ability to communicate clearly and concisely." 

 The Brief Lab offers several workshops based upon the book, Brief:Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less, released in February 2014. It is being translated into several languages including Russian, Chinese, Korean, Arabic and Turkish. "We're gaining momentum and growing our registered community every day," McCormack said. "Professionals are realising that this is an essential skill that everyone needs to master."