Microsoft Testing Its Own 'Google Base' Classifieds Marketplace

[mandy]

Another article on the Microsoft Expo classifieds service:

Microsoft Corp. is testing an online marketplace that lets employees at Boeing Co. buy and sell products over the Internet, challenging Google Inc. and eBay Inc.

With Windows Live Expo, users will be able to list products for sale on the Web, Microsoft said Thursday.

The company first offered the site to its employees three months ago and is now expanding the trial to other companies in Seattle including Washington Mutual Inc.

full article: http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/s...0387c.html

[bargainbloodhound]

It is a positive that they're not imitating eBay's practice of doing the testing AFTER the site launches 

[mandy]

More details on Windows Live Expo

The company says a nationwide beta will begin this spring, although it declined to elaborate as to how that would proceed.

The service will integrate with other Windows Live services, including Live Local, allowing a user to narrow down searches and find items within a certain distance. Through Live Messenger, users would be able to discover new listings through "gleams" next to their buddies names. Spaces integration is also planned, with the capability to post one's own listings on their Space through an optional module.

To facilitate communication between buyer and seller, an option is provided that allows buyers to instant message the seller through MSN and Windows Live Messenger.

In the initial beta the seller would receive a dialog box asking whether or not they would accept messages; in the future an IM bot will handle the conversation allowing for complete anonymity and also identifying the message is regarding a Live Expo listing...

full article: http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsof...1139529819

[Kristijntje]

Microsoft launched its free online marketplace on Tuesday. Windows Live Expo, which had been code-named Fremont in alpha testing, is still in beta testing mode and is available only to U.S. customers. The service expands the traditional classified ad concept by providing social networking and community features...

Shoppers on Microsoft's new Windows Live Expo can limit searches geographically, and listings are integrated with MSN's satellite-image-based service. Customers can choose to view listings specific to their MSN Messenger Contact List or personal email groups, which it hopes will add a level of trust in transactions. Expo is also integrated with MSN Messenger so buyers and sellers can discuss deals via instant messaging.

full article: http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m03/i01/s01
Windows Live Expo site: http://expo.live.com/

[mandy]

Another mention in ClickZ:

Microsoft hopes that its approach of tying free classifieds to social networks allows it to differentiate its product in an increasingly crowded market. Google recently launched a classifieds-oriented service at Google Base. Meanwhile, aggregators such as Edgeio, Oodle and Indeed are trying to unseat players like Craigslist, eBay and newspaper classifieds providers.

"What sets Windows Live Expo apart is that people can set their own search parameters for goods and services. They can define their own marketplace universe," said Garry Wiseman, product unit manager for Windows Live Expo at Microsoft, in a statement

full article: http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3588211

[mandy]

Another article focusing on Expo's combination of classifieds and social networking.  Other sites that are using the same combination are www.MySpace.com and www.TagWorld.com

The online classified space has seen a lot of activity in recent weeks by a lot of companies taking a lot of different approaches. Oodle.com continues to grow with its business model of bringing buyers to existing ad-seller sites, including newspapers and online verticals. Google Base is beta-testing its big brand name as a marketing site where users can post whatever content they wish, and apparently wants to range from the retailer offering high-end chocolates in Cannes, France, to the seller hoping to unload a Pontiac in Pacoima CA. Even eBay is in the classifieds business with Kijiji.com, which it operates beyond U.S. shores so as not to conflict with its 25% stake in Craigslist. And last week saw the launch of Vast.com, an online classified player that says it has 15 million listings scraped from 50,000 Web sites and invites site developers to customize those listings to suit their users’ needs.

Into this fray steps Microsoft, which opened its classified-listing beta test—code-named “Fremont”, now christened “Windows Live Expo”—to users at the end of February. Expo has decided to differentiate its offering primarily by combining classified search with another hot area of endeavor: social networking.

full article: http://multichannelmerchant.com/searchli...dows-Expo/

related topics:
MySpace Classifieds to compete with eBay, Craigslist, CareerBuilder
http://community.tuliptools.com/index.ph...987.0.html
Social Networking Site TagWorld to Add Free Member Stores, Classifieds
http://community.tuliptools.com/index.ph...537.0.html