Microsoft has entered the fray of video sharing with Tuesday’s introduction of Soapbox. No real surprise here. With the mass reach that these networks have, the advertising dollars Microsoft can make could be massive. The problem, as always with Redmond, is the Me Too mentality that inhibits innovation.

Bill Gates made the misstep in ’93 that internet was something frivolous. Microsoft made their mark in business software, and that was where they would stay. But computers actually jumped out of the realm of work. They became creative outlets. And communication centers. Users began to log on in their spare time to chat, share, create and game. Computers (and the internet) became a part of our daily lives. Microsoft tooled away at making our work more efficient, while companies like Apple and Google found ways to make our lives easy and fun.

Slowly Microsoft has begun to loosen its tie and play catch-up. Xbox is a great gaming system, and often trumps it’s competition in the cool factor. But then you have misses like the Zune, which is hoping to make, well, brown the new black. Really, brown? And the launch of a new video site seems to be based solely on marketing potential, and not entrenching themselves in everyday life of the web. We all have to make money, and I definitely do it through marketing as well. Just think next time with your heart and mind, and not your wallet, and you may come up with the next iPod/YouTube/MySpace killer that we cannot live without.

Microsoft Hopes to Sell Zune Using Brown [CNET]
MSN Unveils Video-Sharing Site [MediaPost, registration required]

David Kegel, Creative Director

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