MSN Soapbox now in beta

Cory Bergman September 18th, 2006

We reported a couple weeks ago that MSN was close to launching its user video site, and now Microsoft has debuted MSN Soapbox in invitation-only beta. Similar to YouTube, Soapbox allows simple uploading, sharing and the ability to embed the player on your blog. And yes, it’ll run on Firefox. So what’s the revenue model? “(We’re) exploring several monetization options that complement the viewing experience in a non-intrusive manner and offer our brand partners the assurance that their message is being displayed next to the types of content they want,” said a Microsoft spokesperson.

PRESS RELEASE — MSN today announced the U.S. beta release of Soapbox on MSN® Video, a user-uploaded video service that makes it easy for people to express themselves by uploading, discovering and sharing personal videos with the Soapbox community and others around the world. Soapbox will be available on MSN Video and will be deeply integrated throughout Microsoft Corp.’s (Nasdaq: MSFT - News) portfolio of online services, including Windows Live(TM) Spaces and Windows Live Messenger.

“Soapbox delivers on a critical component of the MSN growth strategy of deepening audience engagement by enabling people to participate in the content experience,” said Rob Bennett, general manager of Entertainment and Video Services for MSN. “By adding a user-uploaded video service, we are rounding out our existing investments in commercially produced and original content on MSN Video.”

Advanced Technology for Exceptional Performance

Soapbox on MSN Video utilizes powerful Web 2.0 technologies to provide a dynamic, fun and entertaining experience and offers these benefits:

— Easy uploading and sharing of video creations. By providing single-step
uploading, background server-side video processing and acceptance of
all major digital video formats, Soapbox makes uploading videos a snap.
— Finding and discovering the most entertaining videos. Viewers can
search, browse through 15 categories, find related videos, subscribe to
RSS feeds, and share their favorites with their friends — all without
interrupting whatever video they are watching.
— Participation in the Soapbox community. Soapbox users can rate, comment
on and tag the videos they view, share links with their friends via
e-mail, and include the embeddable Soapbox player directly on their Web
site or blog.

Availability

The beta of Soapbox on MSN Video is available on an invitation-only basis in the U.S. Those interested in participating in the beta can sign up for the waiting list now at http://soapbox.msn.com . Access to the beta will expand over time by enabling existing beta testers to invite a limited number of friends. The beta of Soapbox on MSN Video is available to users of Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 6 or later running on Windows® XP and Firefox 1.0.5 or later running on Windows XP or Macintosh OS X.