Video: Getting started with bot development using Microsoft Bot Framework

I’ve just published a video to Channel 9 which I think you might be interested in. It’s a 101 for the Microsoft Bot Framework.

The Bot Framework is a new and exciting addition to Microsoft’s toolkit for developers. Using it you can quickly create a simple bot to answer questions, retrieve information etc. It’s built on .NET and can be consumed using Skype Consumer, Microsoft Team, Slack, Facebook Messenger etc etc. No Skype for Business support yet – but I really hope that they add this soon as an alternative way to build bots for the Skype for Business ecosystem.

I’ve tried hard to make this an “honest” video – no edits, no covering up mistakes. There’s very little polish here – it’s just me showing you how to create your first Bot Framework bot and publish it for use. My theory is that seeing the mistakes and rough edges is an excellent way to learn. I’m really keen to hear your feedback on this approach, in the comments please!