Microsoft Plans Flickr Competitor

An anonymous reader writes "Judging by newly posted job calls, Microsoft is now working on a Flickr-like online photo service. ZDNet reports: '"This feature team is building a next-generation photo and video sharing service that will compete with Flickr, SmugMug and other photo web solutions today. This is a 'v1' opportunity," the ad said. And video will be a part of the effort, too: "This role will work across the new Windows Live division with teams like Spaces, SkyDrive, Messenger and Hotmail to construct a winning strategy for Microsoft in photo and video sharing." Evidently, Microsoft sees the effort as an online extension of its current desktop technology.' Gundeep Hora, at CoolTechZone, feels that such a service is unlikely to succeed, and lays out the numerous challenges the company will face upon entering the market."

Comments

It's a trap!

[Wellington Grey]

They just want to feed the machine!

-Grey

Value proposition?

[realinvalidname]

Great, a Flickr/YouTube wannabe that only works on Windows and XBoxes. So who actually wants this?

Huh?

[dwiget001]

Winning strategy *and* Microsoft?

Yeah, that's gonna work.

Guaranteeed To Suck

[curmudgeon99]

Well, we've been here before. Another Me-too offering from the boys in Redmond. Next I'll be expecting them to come out with a new buggy whip. Is there anything of merit that originated in Redmond? I seriously doubt it. They have produced crap in every area they touch. Zune, anyone?

Re:Anyone Notice something ....?

[jc42]

Has anyone noticed that MS has completely stop any semblance of innovation or improvement upon products, and is now instead chasing every single idea in Tech simultaneously?

So when has their approach been different from that?

From the very first release of the "IBM PC" running DOS, the IBM/Microsoft strategy has been to watch what the flock of independent developers and small companies develops, watch the reaction of "the Market", and when someone develops something that sells, either buy them out or (if the little guys have dreams of making it as an independent) write a quick-and-dirty knockoff and use the overwhelming IBM/MS marketing budget to take over. If you're the "market leader", you can do this; nobody else much can.

Of course, since Microsoft became the semi-independent actor they are now (while still having IBM as their one huge client and supporter), with control of the "market leader" OS, they can also use another strategy: Package their knockoff with the OS, in such a way that users find it difficult and confusing to use anything else. Then the competition is rapidly eliminated from their customers' machines, and they control the market for the product without the need to use their marketing budget. The wording of TFA implies that this is what they're planning.

In some circles, this is known as "doing a Netscape" on the competition, since it's the way that Microsoft drove Netscape out of business. It works for Microsoft. It probably won't work for you or me, because we don't control the market-leader OS.

Ya just gotta understand how our Capitalist system actually works (as opposed by how economic theology says it should work).

[That last comment should suffice to get me a "flamebait" rating, as the amateur economic theologists come out of the woodwork and fire up a flame war. ;-]