Microsoft Gets Socl

Last Tuesday, Microsoft launched a new social media platform called 'Socl.' Similar to Pinterest, Socl (pronounced "social") allows users to create custom collages to share their thoughts and ideas. The project began as a research experiment on social search targeted at students. According to the Socl website, Socl is "...a service where people connect over shared interests expressed through beautiful posts that take only seconds to create."

Unlike Pinterest, Socl allows users to create their collages through searching things that are of interest to them. The photos are collected from Bing, Microsoft's search engine, and then users can select which photos they would like to have featured in their post. Each post made on Socl can be comprised of images, videos, or links found through the Bing searches.

Socl also gives users a chance to interact with each other. Users have the option to "follow" other users and can also send private messages. Socl also has a creative feature called "riffs." Through "riffs," users can create visual responses to other users posts. For example, if I made a collage on the color purple and that inspired another user, they could create a riff of my post, extending the conversation past my own collage. This interesting feature along with Socls ability to translate posts into other languages, allows people from all over the globe to connect through their common interest.

As of now, I'm sure users and developers alike are trying to figure out exactly where Socl fits in the world of social networking. While different in many ways, Socl does have many similarities to popular social sites, mainly Pinterst and Tumblr, which make it hard to distinguish what exactly Socl has to offer that the others don't. Nevertheless, as public relations professionals, it's our job to know this new social site like the inside of our Twitter feeds. You never know when a client or superior is going to want you to utilize it. It is always better to be in the know!

Have you tried Socl yet or do you plan to try it in the future? Let us know!