Adds updated photo sharing, instant messaging, email along with content from 50 sites
(Computerworld) Microsoft this week unveiled a slew of new online services that essentially transforms its Windows Live site into a social network.
The changes, which include updated photo sharing, e-mail and instant messaging capabilities, have received mostly positive reviews from Web 2.0 industry observers.
Microsoft also announced that it is integrating activities from some 50 companies and Web 2.0 services -- including Yahoo Inc.'s Flickr photo-sharing service, LinkedIn Corp., Photobucket Inc., Twitter and WordPress.org -- into the site through new Windows Live profiles and a news feed.
Michael Arrington, a blogger at TechCrunch said that the changes transform Microsoft Live from a "simple search engine with a few other services bolted on" to a social network that pulls in activity information and content from across the Web.
"A lot of what they've done is exactly what Yahoo has been talking about for over a year now -- leveraging social connections that already exist," he added. "Yahoo is using e-mail; Microsoft is using Messenger and doing a lot more with it. Users are automatically connected with any friends they have on Windows Live Messenger, which is by far the most popular instant messaging service worldwide."
Like Yahoo, he added, Microsoft is building it social networking strategy around its area of strength, which is instant messaging.
More: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9120160&source=NLT_WK&nlid=2
(Computerworld) Microsoft this week unveiled a slew of new online services that essentially transforms its Windows Live site into a social network.
The changes, which include updated photo sharing, e-mail and instant messaging capabilities, have received mostly positive reviews from Web 2.0 industry observers.
Microsoft also announced that it is integrating activities from some 50 companies and Web 2.0 services -- including Yahoo Inc.'s Flickr photo-sharing service, LinkedIn Corp., Photobucket Inc., Twitter and WordPress.org -- into the site through new Windows Live profiles and a news feed.
Michael Arrington, a blogger at TechCrunch said that the changes transform Microsoft Live from a "simple search engine with a few other services bolted on" to a social network that pulls in activity information and content from across the Web.
"A lot of what they've done is exactly what Yahoo has been talking about for over a year now -- leveraging social connections that already exist," he added. "Yahoo is using e-mail; Microsoft is using Messenger and doing a lot more with it. Users are automatically connected with any friends they have on Windows Live Messenger, which is by far the most popular instant messaging service worldwide."
Like Yahoo, he added, Microsoft is building it social networking strategy around its area of strength, which is instant messaging.
More: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9120160&source=NLT_WK&nlid=2