Microsoft's social network
Published 14 November 2008
This week, Microsoft radically extended the services offered on their live.com service. Previously it was but a humble search portal, but overnight it’s been transformed into a plaxo/facebook/yahoo hybrid that’s so socially networked it sensed I’m writing this and has already added me as a friend.
It’s a key strike in the MS strategy to win back some ground from Google, offering a tight integration with the Windows ecosystem and laying the foundations for the upcoming introduction of Windows 7 next year. Despite the picasa/ flickr alternatives and file sharing servives, the overwhelming sensation is one of being connected - the ‘Live Profiles’ feature in particular representing a clear challenge to the current leaders of the social networking scene. Redmond needs to do something fast. With the botched launch of Vista still smarting and browser-based applications beginning to eat away at their boxed-product market share, moving aggressively towards the socialised web app space is the only real option.
Of course, you’d be right to be suspicious. The instinctive and accepted response to Microsoft attempting to do anything which involves humanity (such as social networking or even comedic advertising) is of course howls of derisive laughter. The idea that the uber-capitalist machine is incapable of delivering anything like the warmth of community that something like Facebook can create is crazy because they’re simply too, y’know, Microsoft.
But, whilst every atom in my body distrusts their them, the numbers once again batter me into submission. The way in which MS can win this is through what is often perceived as one of their most trivial and inane distractions : Instant Messaging. Their Windows Live Messenger client (formally MSN Messenger) boasts some 268 million individual users worldwide, all of whom need simply to log into the new live.com site to slouch over to it and adopt it as their social-network home of choice. Just to log-in in the service is to be effortlessly and instantaneously connected to all your msn pals the world over. They likely already have their trojan installed on your machine, and one of your family is chatting to their friends on it.
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