Microsoft Threatens Startups Over Account Info

HangingChad writes "According to Fortune, there are reports that Microsoft is trying to strong arm startups to give preferential treatment to MSN Messenger and are using account information as leverage. 'If the company wants to offer other IM services (from Yahoo, Google or AOL, say), Messenger must get top billing. And if the startup wants to offer any other IM service, it must pay Microsoft 25 cents a user per year for a site license.' Of course, if the company is willing to use Messenger exclusively 'fee will be discounted 100 percent.' Getting detailed information is difficult as many of the companies being approached are afraid of reprisals."

Comments

They are all playing the lock in game

[Zeinfeld]

All the social networking companies are playing this game. The only difference is that when Microsoft points a lawyer at you, they are loaded.

Open Identity systems such as OpenID are the way to go. But how do we break open the proprietary lock? Tim Berners-Lee told me to look at FOAF but we still need to complete the integration into the authentication systems.

Re:They are all playing the lock in game

[Zeinfeld]

Bad form to follow up one's post, but when I said the companies were all playing the same game, I meant the lock in game. The tactics are different but the idea is the same: the social networking company owns the contacts and the data.

You can export your links to other people in these schemes but the inbound links point in the same place, you can take your data but not your network.

One step forward here is that Google blogger has at last allowed people to use their own domain name with their blog. So you can move your blog to a different host if you please.

Re:They are all playing the lock in game

[jdevivre]

"Our data"? Is that even a legal position to take? You know, I was all ready to "hear hear" that sentiment, and then I thought of the Postal Service. The content of a letter is mine (keep it simple and bypass copyright, etc), but the responsibility of delivery is theirs. They can't lose it, have it stolen, altered, copied or viewed by anyone (again, simplify) without "failing" their purpose. Same goes for the IM handlers, I guess. Having control over the in- and out- points, along with the channels between is just easier to meet the responsibilities.

So, not to defend the actions or strategies of MS, but the aspect you've focused on is at least open for discussion.

Heavy Foot

[mfh]

Microsoft has always had a heavy foot, but waiving fees for those who cut out the competition requires another solution.

Drop Microsoft! Just drop them. Stop using them. They are old anyway. Let's come up with something NEW!

Backfires inc!

So, the real question

[WindBourne]

why are they still playing with MS? MS will ALWAYS pull these illegal actions. All the companies have to do is quit playing in MS's back yard.

What amazes me, is that MS does not buy companies who are on their platform. They just strongarm them and steal as be needed. Instead, they buy companies who could represent a threat to their platform or are making money hand over fist (the 2 tend to go hand in hand). So, by being in Windows, a startup not only pays much higher costs, but they also kill off a huge chunk of the market that would otherwise drive up their price, and then subject themselves to MS's hand.

Re:What about Intellectual Property?

[Pat69]

Not when you store it on *MY* server. If you want to retain control of your data, then don't give it to me. So if I were to host web sites on your servers, you would own the content on my sites?

Interesting...