Microsoft Unveils Ambitious, Localized Social Webapp

Posted 04/28/2009 at 7:22am | by Paul Lilly

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Microsoft's not exactly a new kid on the software block, but it's also never been part of the 'in-crowd' either, which makes its latest experiment that much more interesting. While services like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace dominate the social networking landscape, Microsoft will try to take a different approach with a new web service called Vine.

The service debuted in beta form today in Seattle and serves as a dashboard for users to stay connected with family, friends, and community events. True to Microsoft form, Vine makes its way onto desktops as a widget. On the main screen sits a map of the user's community and contacts status. But the real potential, says Microsoft, is in promoting Vine as a type of emergency broadcast system, both for emergency management officials and for family and friends to update their status during a disaster.

"I think long-term this is probably going to be a very valuable tool to help people keep connected, not only during times of crisis but on a daily basis," said Hillman Mitchell, the city of Tukwila's emergency management coordinator.

Vine, which is being made available to more than 10,000 testers from the outset before expanding into other test markets, is debuting with more than 20,000 media sources and public safety organizations, including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Microsoft has posted a video demo of the service, which you can view here before hitting the jump and telling us what kind of future you see for Vine.