With the launch of the Microsoft So.cl website, it appears that the Redmond software developers have plans of getting in on some social networking action too. Released by the company’s Fuse Labs, this webpage is aimed towards building a platform through which students will be able to express their own ideas and well as experiment with them.
Designed to provide a much more effective way of learning, the site allows users to search for content or even share stuff such as photos, videos or text as well as conveniently exchange information and even create their own pages. Additionally, to achieve specific goals, students can find others with similar interests and build communities.
Lili Cheng, general manager of Fuse Labs commented, “I am surprised by the amount of frustration and the lack of design innovation in the design of everyday tools such as search, social networking, text messaging, and email. None of these were designed for the way students communicate, and I haven’t found anyone who really loves the way they work together. We hope to reduce some technical barriers for students who are interested in exploring something different—and show that more experimentation is needed.”
Pronounced as ‘Social’, the network is also aimed towards assisting and motivating students to build a more effective way to broaden their interests as well as connect with others. When it comes to introducing educative offerings on the web, Microsoft isn’t alone. Just recently, Google launched its YouTube for Schools project with the view of helping students and teachers to enhance productivity through videos.
The Microsoft So.cl experimental research project is currently under the process of being implemented within information and design schools such as the University of Washington, Syracuse University and New York University.