Microsoft’s so.cl network now open to all
Sign up now, once you update Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, Foursquare, MySpace …
Microsoft’s “experiment in open search”, so.cl, is now open to anyone.
Launched back in May amidst very little fanfare, so.cl (pronounced “social “) was initially offered only to students and billed as an experiment in learning.
Redmond has recanted those restrictions, today telling world+dog they’re free to pile in and enjoy the fun, as so.cl is now “a service where people connect over shared interests.”
So.cl is rather unlike other social networks inasmuch as a post starts with a search. The results of that search can then be assembled into a post that brings together the user’s desired elements.
Many users post just a single image. Others take a more curatorial approach, collecting several images related to the same topic in a fashion not entirely unlike creating a Pinterest collection.
Redmond’s not building a walled garden, as Facebook is a permitted login mechanism and so.cl’s About page states it is not in competition with other social networks.
“Socl is an experimental research project with a minimal set of features that combine social networking and search for the purpose of enabling people to express and share ideas through rich visual collages, organized by interests,” Microsoft says.
Whether Redmond will be still be saying that if, or when, it embeds a so.cl tile in the default Windows 8 start screen remains to be seen. ®
COMMENTS
so.cl (pronounced “social “)
Sorry but I insist on pronouncing it "sockle" and no amount of embarrassing PR by Microsoft will change that!
A bit like how I overhead two blokes in a shop the other week - one said to other "I don't use Google, I use Bing!" I nearly pissed myself, just the way he said it so enthusiastically, like he was in TV advert for Microsoft or something! It's not cool to admit things like that in public dude!
Re: so.cl (pronounced “social “)
na, as it's a chilean domain it's pronounced so punto say elay
So.cl
Am I the only one who read that as 'so called'? "Microsoft's so called network" stil sounds more reasonable.
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