Microsoft is reinventing Windows Live as a social network by adding many of the features already found in sites such as Facebook. Photo and music-sharing features are supplied through partnerships with Photobucket, Flickr, iLike and Pandora. Windows Live also embeds and provides access to LinkedIn and WordPress. Microsoft says Windows Live is set to support services from more than 50 partners.
Users can also organise all their contact lists in one place, establish social networks and create news feeds that include Twitter updates, Yelp reviews and friends' profile updates.
The company hopes to attract users to Windows Live by "simplifying the web experience and providing one central place where users can organise and manage information," says Brian Hall, Windows Live's general manager. Microsoft Messenger already dominates the worldwide market for instant messaging with 268m users. The company expects Messenger users to take advantage of the new service.
StrategyEye's related companies: Flickr, iLike, Pandora International, Automattic, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Photobucket
