Microsoft is rarely on the cutting edge of the web experience anymore. More like the buttering edge, really. The company has a new online hub designed for teens and young adults called msnNOW that culls the most talked about topics online, particularly on social media sites, and creates a kind of digital water cooler conversation hub. Or you could think of it as a gossip magazine edited in part by robots (there are also 20 human editors who write 100-word summaries). Or you could think of it as yet another place to read celebrity blather. Or you could wonder why Microsoft thought people would need or want something like this, given that Google and Yahoo and Twitter have all been doing something similar for many years. Microsoft has an answer for that last one: everyone loves our knowledgeable executives!
MSN believes its new service will prove to be even more effective because it is drawing upon Microsoft Corp.’s expertise in data management and relying on human editors to ensure the real-time site is more compelling than a list of words and links.
When I visited the site, it said one of the hottest topics on the web right now is Madeleine Stowe. BECAUSE THE KIDS ALL LOVE MADELEINE STOWE. Maybe the site is beaming to us from 1994! I love surfing the cyberspace!
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