Microsoft Is Closing the Social Network You Forgot It Ever Launched (techcrunch.com)

So.cl, the little-known and probably much-forgotten social network project from Microsoft Research's FUSE Labs division, is closing down. From a report on TechCrunch: The service was launched in late 2011 as a social community where the objective was "collaborative consumption, not communication." Initially for students, So.cl opened up to anyone once it had gotten going and subsequently added support for mobile devices, too. When word of the project first leaked out prior to its launch, many had assumed that Microsoft was building a social network to compete directly with Facebook -- this was a time when companies might be inclined to do that, remember Google Buzz launching in 2010? But Facebook this wasn't. It actually used Facebook log-in for user sign-up so if anything it is/was a Facebook app. If you're looking for a comparison, the focus on image collages and video made So.cl a little like a Pinterest-style service for visual content.

Comments

Collaborative consumption, not communication

[BarbaraHudson]

Seems to me that most "social media" is exactly the same - everyone consuming - there's very little actual communication going on. Just people screaming past each other like two cats with their tails tied together thrown over a clothes line (and if you want to know what THAT sounds like, just listen to Bohemian Rhapsody).