Microsoft launches So.cl

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Microsoft have made some significant developments in recent months – take the new Windows ‘Modern UI’ interface and switch from Hotmail to Outlook - but you could be forgiven for missing the launch of their own social network So.cl.

The low-key unveiling of the network a few months back helped push the news under the radar. Microsoft themselves are keeping it modest, claiming that the network, pronounced “social”, is still very much in the ‘experimental’ stage and is not a competitor to Facebook - you can even sign in using this account. Instead, the site is being branded as a ‘research project’ targeted specifically at students. By teaming up with the University of Washington, Syracuse University, and New York University, Microsoft have begun to create their ‘research community’. The aim is to have this community connect with each other to further both the learning and social aspects of those involved.

So.cl very much utilises the new look Bing search engine, which can make users’ searches available to view if one so wishes. Users can also choose to share content differently through their visual montages feature. Essentially, it seems that Microsoft have taken various elements from other networks and are trying to create their own out of this, maintaining that it is ‘experimental’. Forbes’ examination of the site puts it most akin to Google+, in that it crucially combines the social and search elements.

Forbes later suggests that ‘feigning’ focus on the student market may not be a bad move for the site. Facebook highlights the success this can bring and Google+ is faltering due to their failure to tap into this market. Even if the site were not to take on other competitors, So.cl does have the potential to become a learning and research tool. If academics and fellow students were to link relevant work others may prosper from this.

Venture Beat has noted that the sites pivotal feature, the Bing ‘social search’, could become a bane for many users who do not want to know what others are searching for. The new ‘bookmarklet’ feature makes this even easier, allowing users to quickly share web content whilst navigating. Still, the site has the potential to succeed, possibly fulfilling functions that Google+ initially promised. At present though, So.cl appears to be a feeble attempt from Microsoft but we are yet to see it really take off.

Is there room for another social network or has it all been done?

Josh Bennett, Content Writer

@JoshAtSMF @SocialMediaF

http://socialmediafrontiers.com/