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So... here we are again, yet another attempt by Microsoft to compete, first the JPEG, then the iPod, then google video and YouTube.... ant this time, yet another strange name, SoapBox.
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Microsoft is preparing to go live with their new user-generated video service and is ramping up to take on YouTube in the near future. Codenamed Warhol, the service's final name is said to be "Soapbox." It will debut on MSN instead of Windows Live, as many have expected, but will nevertheless be tightly integrated with Microsoft's MySpace competitor, Windows Live Spaces. The details of the new service are rumored to be very similar to those of YouTube, with a 100 MB upload limit from "almost any format," tags and categories, RSS feeds, integration of a Windows Live Spaces account, and the ability to embed videos on a web page or blog.
Aside from item-specific and submitter-specific RSS feeds, another item to note is the lack of any sort of length limits to the uploaded videos. In March of this year, YouTube folded to heavy criticism of copyrighted content being uploaded to the site by placing a 10-minute video limit on all user-uploaded videos that were not from a Director accountâ€â€ÂÂÂa Premium Content Creator account that allows professionals to post their own professionally-created videos to YouTube. This was done in hopes of discouraging users from attempting to upload full-length TV shows to the site, which really didn't eliminate the copyrighted content from being available, but toned it down a fair amount. So far, it doesn't appear as if Soapbox has such limitations, but that could change before the service goes live or soon thereafter.
Microsoft believes that it is already positioned to be a heavy competitor against YouTube for the user-generated video market. MSN's Todd E. Herman said in an interview that the game isn't about uploading, it's about availability and MSN is already good at making content available. Mr. Herman was very confident that while YouTube definitely "got to the party early," MSN's 4 million unique visitors per month would allow them to catch up in no time. Although he was rather vague in the interview, he definitely indicated that he thought they could outpace YouTube in no time as well, as MSN already considered themselves to be "out-TiVoing TiVo" by providing relevant news clips to viewers after broadcast instead of an entire news show to pick through.
Initial screenshots of the Soapbox page (not yet live) sure do look a lot like YouTube except with that signature Microsofty twist. What remains to be seen is whether Soapbox's interface provides the ease-of-use and visibility that will compel its video-sharing demographic to make use of the service over YouTube. Although Microsoft is confident that their 4-million-heavy MSN traffic will help them close in on to YouTube without a hitch, will it really? MySpace, which boasts overall traffic numbers around 50 million unique visitors per month, launched MySpace Video in March of this year to compete with YouTube. Although MySpace Video carries some very strong numbers itself, MySpace's ridiculously large following has yet to help them catch up to YouTube's numbers in the user-generated video market. In fact, after an initial spike, usage seems to be leveling out at just over half of YouTube's marketshare. Being the first to the party does indeed have its advantages, but for how long can YouTube hold the spot?
Now, I get this MSN Butterfluy Video when I visit the Beta Player and Teaser Page on SoapBox... (soapbox.msn.com) It wont come under Windows Live, but maybe it will come with the Zune Family. Live and Zune are Microsofts new families, and to be honest, although Live looks pretty cool, none of their names are too catchy, like YouTube, or iPod, but meybe we'll come to like them...
A few days after the actual MSN Soapbox Beta was made online, Microsoft has begun sending invites for the service's managed beta program.
The service, intended as a competitor to the many video upload services, YouTube being the most widely known service of that kind. Though the system is basically the same, Microsoft implemented a few interesting features to its own version, such as customized RSS Feeds.
"Soapbox delivers on a critical component of the MSN growth strategy of deepening audience engagement by enabling people to participate in the content experience," said Rob Bennett, general manager of Entertainment and Video Services for MSN. "By adding a user-uploaded video service, we are rounding out our existing investments in commercially produced and original content on MSN Video."
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