Soapbox on MSN Video is a new online video uploading, video hosting, video sharing, video searching and video viewing site from Microsoft that aims to compete with other video posting and video clips watching site such as YouTube, Google Video, Yahoo! Video, Revver, Metacafe, iFilm, GoFish, PutFile and Vimeo. Unlike MSN Video which is a professional video contents site, Soapbox on MSN Video will focus on users made and contributed videos, with lots of advanced features. Currently, invitation is needed to register and sign up for Soapbox service.
CNet News (dead link) has managed to get an invite to join Soapbox on MSN Video. CNet reviews Soapbox and concludes that “Soapbox is disappointing. It’s a slightly better sharing service than YouTube in some small technical ways, but it doesn’t help users make money from their content like Revver does; it doesn’t have granular privacy controls like Vox; it won’t post directly into blogs for you like VideoEgg; and it won’t show videos from other networks like Yahoo Video. Given Microsoft’s position in the video sharing market (dead last), I expected a more aggressive product.”
CNet Reviews (dead link) meanwhile feels that Soapbox has plenty of features. What it’s missing is content and community. It’s very likely that Microsoft will steer millions of people to Soapbox via the very popular Windows Live Spaces blogging network, among other avenues. Given a vibrant community and a decent catalog of videos, many users will likely find Soapbox a good adjunct to the Spaces blog network. Soapbox is a solid platform for user-generated video, even if it’s no technical breakout.
LK is a technology writer for Tech Journey with background of system and network administrator. He has be documenting his experiences in digital and technology world for over 15 years.Connect with LK through Tech Journey on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.
