Microsoft to Scale Back Soapbox Video Sharing Site
By Anna Johnson on June 26th, 2009Microsoft will scale back video sharing website, Soapbox, its answer to YouTube.
Microsoft Vice President Erik Jorgensen said Microsoft planned to decrease its investment in Soapbox based on the difficult economic environment.
The company launched Soapbox in 2006 but it never really took off. It has certainly never posed a serious competitive threat to YouTube.
It appears Microsoft is not giving up on the site, though. It plans to reposition Soapbox as a forum where bloggers and others can post videos in focused areas such as entertainment, lifestyle, and finance.
Microsoft has not yet decided whether users will be able to freely upload videos or whether an editorial staff will need to review them first.
Source: Ina Fried, “Microsoft gives up YouTube chase,” CNET, June 16, 2009
