Microsoft spin off enters social networking
A Microsoft spinout wallop launched its social networking website with an ads-free service intended to challenge MySpace and Facebook
The company, Wallop, began as a research project at Microsoft about four years ago, and is backed by about $US13 million from Microsoft and venture capitalists Norwest Venture Partners, Bay Partners and Consor Capital.
Wallop compete with established brands like MySpace (As of May 2006, U.S. MySpace users viewed over 29 billion pages, according to comScore, up from 7.5 billion the previous year) and Facebook, has a unique business model.
Wallop plans to sell "Mods," from millions of the best Adobe Flash developers and designers, allowing people to add customized content to their Wallop pages without having to develop it themselves. The site’s creators also touted their one-click model of setting up Web pages. Wallop says the plan to charge users for the decorations will supplant the advertising that supports many such free sites. Wallop wants a piece of the $3 trillion per year U.S. market for self expression items (clothes, furniture, beauty supplies, etc.)
Well, the site has now launched in an invitation-only "semi-public" beta it bypasses all the Web 2.0 stuff and ditches the AJAX in favor of Flash. The user’s virtual social network is displayed in graphical form using a feature called "Radar"—people who aren’t as close to you appear as icons placed farther away and if they are outside a certain range they get grayed out. Users can share music, videos, and commentary, allowing others to view their pages on an invitation basis
People will only be able to sign up for the service if an existing member invites them (please guys I do need one…)
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