Microsoft Research FUSE Labs in a blog post today announced that they are shutting down So.cl on March 15, 2017. You’d be surprised to know that this social network has been around for a while now. Microsoft launched in 2011 but it didn’t quite catch up with its competitors. The site was initially aimed at University students before it got opened to the public.
Back in 2014, Microsoft even released So.cl mobile apps for Windows Phone, Android and iOS devices but there was no clear plan for the social network. Since it was just a research project, Microsoft Research has now decided to shut it down. Read the message from FUSE Labs Socl team below.
Socl has been a wonderful outlet for creative expression, as well as a place to enjoy a supportive community of like-minded people, sharing and learning together. In supporting you, Socl’s unique community of creators, we have learned invaluable lessons in what it takes to establish and maintain community as well as introduce novel new ways to make, share and collect digital stuff we love. Through you we’ve been able to introduce many interesting ideas such as:
- Collages; beautiful posts of content discovered through search and auto-assembled
- Riffs; themed conversations based on community inspiration
- Automatic Translation; seamlessly spanning languages and culture
- Collections; telling your story through collections of posts
- Picotales, Video Parties, Blinks, Kodu – new ways to create and share
Click here to know more about FUSE Labs projects.
