The Socl (pronounced “social”) was the social networking site from Microsoft. Microsoft FUSE Labs announced on March 7, 2017 that it would be closing down So.cl on March 15, 2017.
I did create a post about this in November 2011 when the first rumours where out that it was soon to be released. What I said then is pretty much what we have now.
So what was new about Socl?
For me the main difference is that So.cl combines social networking and search. You can search for something, comment on it, and save it, then you can see what your followers think about it. You can you create even richer posts by clicking the more button to view extra images that can be selected to assemble a montage of visuals to accompany your commentary.
I can clearly see that the extra few minutes spent creating the montage is well spent as it makes your post stand out when viewed in the feed. I have seen some very create montages about topics I would not have selected to view if it were not for the well crafted montage!
The excellent visual approach is similar to the Facebook timeline and also the new Google+ mobile app view that I posted about recently.
You can also create a status update as a basic text statement, and then add rich content to it afterwards.
To add feedback to someone’s post you can click the smiley button in the same way as the +1 in Google+, and you can RIFF a post, comment on it and share it to Facebook or to email. Tagging is very important! New tags will create a new interest category. Using existing tags will add your post to the existing interest category.
To RIFF a post is to kick off a new search about an existing post, which you can then save as a new post. A RIFF is similar to a share in Google+, because the share in So.cl does not share it to your feed, it shares it out of So.cl to Facebook or email.
Finding new people and new topics
You can select the EXPLORE option to find categories that already exist. A easy way to get started on the people who have posted already who you might like to follow.
The build your feed option gives you a jump start to find interesting people to follow. You will find this option labelled “Find more” just under the section showing avatars of your followers. Google+ has a similar feature called “find people” in your circles section.
Let’s have a video party!
This looks interesting! I spent a fair while here enjoying the videos.
It is not that hard to jump in. Members suggest videos aligned with a theme and which one gets played next. It reminded me of a TV channel where you could phone up and request a video and wait for your video to bubble up to the top of the list. It is not just for music videos. Chris Voss (The one and only from the Chris Voss show!) had one of the first videos there explaining how to use the interface.
Login and account creation.
What seems odd here is the absence of Twitter? What is going on there? Windows Live and Facebook are the options.
You can also use Facebook and email to invite others
Start up problems – welcome to the So.cl Ladybird!
I was a bit astonished by the high number of bugs and failures. Maybe the stress test estimates were a bit understated? I saw a succession of messages from Microsoft:
- Message 1)
Welcome to all of our news users. Thanks to the new, heavier load we’re seeing some site issues. Stay with us, we’re working on it.
- Message 2)
Thanks for all the love and feedback on So.cl! We’re going to get to work fixing some issues you found, and open back up shortly!
- Message 3)
Thanks for all the posts! Unfortunately we’re experiencing growing pains, please bear with us. Video Parties are working fine, maybe a good time for a music break:-) - Message 4)
Hey Soclistas, we’re sorry, we’re adding capacity quickly but the response is overwhelming (yeah!). Fixes on the way.Bless them!
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