In yet another catch-up attempt, Microsoft unveiled its online video upload site called Soapbox to the general public in a beta release.
There is not much new to be seen on the site. Users can upload and share their videos, tag their videos to allow them to be found easier, and watch posted videos. So far, the one point on which Soapbox seems to have an upper-hand is the ability that users have to watch a video and search for other ones at the same time. This is made possible by a multi-pane interface, which is a sleek and helpful feature.
Many have known that Soapbox would be arriving eventually, but it does not seem that anyone expected anything big from the site, which seems to be the reality.
It would appear that if Microsoft is entering the ring with YouTube and Google to usurp them and take the top spot in online video, they are fooling themselves. Instead, Microsoft is clearly hoping to get a small slice of the online video pie, which many see as experiencing major growth in the next few years.
Early reports indicated that Soapbox had problems in Firefox, but not with Internet Explorer.
It’s also interesting to note that Soapbox is being released under the MSN brand, as opposed to Microsoft’s newer Live brand. The trend indicates that MSN is more of an entertainment doorway, while Live will be tied to more traditional services such as e-mail, instant messaging, and search.
Still, to most Web users this delineation and separation will seem unclear and confusing, which will not help Microsoft’s hopes of keeping up with the likes of Google and Yahoo! when it comes to Web 2.0 offerings.
With YouTube constantly making headlines with legal frays, Soapbox will have an easier time by slipping through the backdoor, while also monitoring what will be a much more manageable catalog of videos on its servers.
Microsoft isn’t always behind Google. Late last week, Google acquired AdScape for $23 million in order to blossom its in-game advertising efforts, which Microsoft already has a strong handle on with its Xbox gaming consoles.
Sources:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20070217/tc_cmp/197006918;_
ylt=Ah8b8YoR2Bph9IqKv7nNTC36VbIF
http://www.imediaconnection.com/news/13727.asp
http://www.techtree.com/India/News/MSN_Soapbox_Public_Beta_
Out/551-79192-643.html
http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=21323&hed=Google+
Agrees+to+Buy%26nbsp%3bAdscape+
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