» Microsoft’s Launches Soap Box; YouTube Killer?

Microsoft has launched its own video sharing site called Soap Box at MSN Video. I spent some time on there watching some of the videos, and I really enjoyed their interface. Utilizing the latest web technologies, Microsoft has created a site that reduces a lot of page loading that is found on YouTube. To watch videos, just click the thumbnail on the left, and the video plays on the right. Overall, I think its a pretty slick interface.

Major Design Flaw

There is a serious bug with the Soap Box website though. Sharing videos on Soap Box is problematic due to the way Microsoft designed the site. Using ajax, they were able to build a site that does not need a page reload when playing a new video. However, this causes a problem when it comes to sharing videos with friends. Of course, you can always click on the share tab under the video to get the permalink for the video but it is habit to just copy the URL in the address bar.

It is obvious if someone accesses Soapbox through the main url (soapbox.msn.com) that the link is not correct. However, if you arrive at the SoapBox site through a share link (ex: http://soapbox.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=14af7300-de8b-47cb-b253-c96226901ac7) and click on a different video on the left you will be presented with your new video. However, if you check the URL in the address bar you will see that it doesn’t change because there was no page reload! Now, most people will just copy the URL and send it to their friends through instant messaging or e-mail. They will then click on the link, but will not necessarily see the video that the sender intended them to see. While ajax is a great technology that has its place, I think there was a huge oversight when it comes to Soap Box.

Too Late To The Game?

Another roadblock to the success of Soap Box is that it is very late to the game. YouTube was already a household name before Google purchased it for 1.65 Billion dollars. YouTube has run into some problems lately including Viacom issuing 100,000 video removal requests so it remains to be seen if the YouTube model is going to survive. It will be interesting to see if Soap Box at MSN Video will be able to gain any ground. I wonder if Microsoft will introduce a revenue sharing model for Soap Box as that would be an excellent way of gaining some ground in the race where they are a few laps behind the competition.

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