So.cl - Microsoft and the social search!

Microsoft has introduced its social network So.cl which bridges the gap between Google, Facebook and Twitter. Through binding information from social networks and blogs into their own lists of results, Microsoft has provided a new avenue for social connections. The privacy settings are according to the user requirements – simply full of security features.

Now Microsoft has its own social network in the portfolio. The new service is called So.cl and pronounced as "social", focuses on what people are looking for. According to Microsoft, it is an experiment that is aimed primarily at students and designed to explore social learning. So.cl has been tested in recent months at several U.S. universities, as of today, the network is open to anyone interested. So.cl is associated with Microsoft's search engine Bing.

In the input box at the top, you can directly type a subject that interests you. Alternatively, click on one of the many proposals presented on the home you So.cl from "Music", "Movies", "Food", "Travel", "tech" and "Science" here are many interests represented . A new, separate sidebar, which brings together all the social aspects of a search should help avoid the ubiquitous search overload, in which likes, shares, recommendations, etc. are evaluated specifically to enhance the quality and relevance of search results. Whether this idea, the social results to separate visually from the conventional results, long-term success is to be seen. Google followed a different approach here, which relies on a much more seamless integration of social and traditional search results.

The crucial challenge in the social search is the relation of social cues, so information about what people find interesting and recommends in the social networks. They want to rely not only on social cues from pre-existing social networks like Google +, Twitter or Facebook. Instead, Microsoft brings its own social network so.cl at the start. The video parties of so.cl reminiscent of Google's hangouts, the contact search is similar to Pinterest.

Microsoft simply wants to enhance the reach and its users base, along with regular search results to display information that find their own social contacts in the social networks in terms of the search interest.