Digital Journal — Microsoft is playing follow-the-leader by introducing its own version of a video-sharing site. “Soapbox on MSN Video” will let users watch, post and rate snack-sized videos, and share fave clips by emailing them or linking them to personal Web pages or blogs.
“By adding a user-uploaded video service, we are rounding out our existing investments in commercially produced and original content on MSN Video,” Microsoft said in a statement.
Great PR spin, but how will MSN’s service differ from market leaders such as YouTube and Google Video? Bill Gates and company promise Soapbox will display videos in slightly larger windows than what competitors offer, and videos can be grouped in 15 categories for quick searching. Like YouTube, file sizes will be limited to 100 megabytes.
Microsoft hasn’t revealed a launch date yet, only telling Associated Press Soapbox will be available “very soon.” A beta-test version is being released only for Microsoft employees and regular MSN testers (invite only).
It’s too early to tell if Soapbox will successfully compete with the today’s stalwarts, but Microsoft knows a surging trend when it sees one. Then again, it has some serious catching up to do.
Analyst Joe Wilcox of Jupiter Research said it best when he told AP, “Right now with video, everybody’s throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. And since everybody else is throwing spaghetti, Microsoft is throwing its own.”
