The social networking scene is soon to accept another major player to the circle. Wallop is Microsoft’s latest attempt to cash in on the trends already set by the global market.
The site, which only recently went live, has already caused quite a stir amongst bloggers, developers and punters in general. Although the platform is not a direct Microsoft project, the corporation has been the main subsidiser, along with a host of venture capitalists.
The angle of this particular service is aim to keep the riff-raff out by keeping the area exclusive. Their vision is to keep it as secure and private as possible, eliminating the threat of spammers and prowlers. The system is currently only leaving its beta stage, and is available to a select few Microsoft Live subscribers who were invited after submitting online applications.
Most services available on the site are adaptations of the current standards (blogging, photo/video galleries, themed groups etc), but does also include a few fresh features. With a healthy amount of Flash capabilities under its bonnet, Wallop is sure to add a third dimension to the market. But could Microsoft not sit this one out, and let the Friendster, MySpace and Facebooks enjoy their piece of the pie?
A large percentage of the opinions published are that of scepticism. Those in the know tend to think that Microsoft are in over their heads, and are knocking on the back door of the billion dollar industry.
Microsoft social computing group researcher Lili Cheng seems to think that “Wallop doesn't seem to fit into any one existing software category. While part of the application is a blogging tool, it also includes other "social networking" software.” I tend to think it sounds like more of the same, and possibly a bit too vague for my taste.
Only time will tell.
This animated Aussie seems to sum things up quite nicely…
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