Is Windows Live now a Facebook wannabe?
Microsoft is now pitching its Windows Live services as a social networking hub. The move has some logistical advantages though may well come across as an outdated attempt for the firm to be all-powerful online.
At the moment, Windows Live is a somewhat clumsy attempt to bring some key online Microsoft services (a rebranded Hotmail, the MSN instant messaging service and the firm’s search engine) under one identity.
The latest edition of these services, dubbed Wave 3, uses social networking as the selling point to integrate the various tools. Each user will have an individual home page which gives easy access to their various Live services, along with a way to build social networks with friends and colleagues who also use the service.
If you’re thinking Facebook, you aren’t far wrong. One screenshot for the service, which shows an ‘Add as Friend’ option, is extremely reminiscent of Facebook; the site has certainly sued for less.
The new Live home pages will allow integrated feeds from a variety of online sites such as Flickr, Photobucket and Pandora. The service will also be available on all mobile devices, not just those running Microsoft systems.
It’s very clear Microsoft is trying to attract and keep users through the ‘one-stop-shop’ principle: the promotional site uses the line “all your stuff in one place”, while the service’s chief Brian Hall says the idea is to simplify the Web “by making it easy to keep your life in sync”.
It’s certainly worth a shot to target Internet users who value convenience and don’t really look for anything more than software that does a decent job for their main online activity with as little hassle as possible. But the danger is that people who are already established as users of Google, Gmail, Facebook and other services will see little benefit in signing up to what’s arguably an integration of second-best services.
The new Live system launches in the United States in the next few weeks and should be available in 54 countries next year.
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