Microsoft launches YouTube rival Soapbox on MSN Video service

[mandy]

Microsoft is set to launch on Tuesday a beta version of a new service that lets people upload videos of their cats dancing, babies laughing and teenagers playing air guitar.

Microsoft's new Soapbox on MSN Video site takes on the popular site YouTube, which has become an online sensation for viral and homegrown user-generated video. Also crowding the online video market are Google Video, Yahoo Video and Revver.

Soapbox on MSN Video, codenamed Warhol, will eventually be integrated with Windows Live Messenger to allow people to embed links to videos in instant messages and with Windows Live Spaces so people can include videos on their blogs.

Soapbox users will be able to rate, comment on and tag the videos, create RSS feeds and share links with others via e-mail. They will also be able to embed the Soapbox player directly on to their Web site or blog...

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Microsoft Soapbox is no threat to YouTube, yet...

The soapbox page rarely scrolls, so using Soapbox feels more like using a PC application than a typical Web site. But, in the beta anyway, the browser's back button doesn?t work -- it takes you back to the last site you were on, and loses your place on the Soapbox site.

I found nothing in the Soapbox product itself to propel it past other video sharing sites. It will live or die based on its content and its community. Microsoft will have to turn people on its successful blogging network, Windows Live Spaces, into Soapbox users. That could make a difference, but the site's features won't.

In sum, Soapbox is disappointing...

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