I like Microsoft but its a follower when it comes to things happening online. Its following Ipod with its new Zune music player, and now with soapbox its following Youtube. If you are not the first to bring something unique to the plate no matter how hard you try you are always gonna be a follower not a leader. Micrsoft has lost so many good ideas to other start-ups. I mean a giant company with a whole lot of money can do anything if they hire the right people.

Microsoft’s user-generated video site, Soapbox, was released to beta a few days ago. Its a beta version so you have to be on an invite list to be accepted, but after a while anyone can join soapbox. Most of the people who have tried soapbox have told me that its pretty okay. One of my friend said its all hype but it has some potential.One trick that Microsoft incorporated into Soapbox is that it uses Windows Media Player to display the video content to Internet Explorer users, but Flash player to display content to everybody else.

Like Youtube users can upload videos of any length to the site, but total file size must remain under 100MB. Users can also tag videos, search for videos by tag, and leave comments for other users to read. I still don’t how is Soapbox going to appeal to all those Youtube addicts. Soapbox is pretty much the same when it comes to features and stuff minus the user rich content that Youtube has. Lets see what will become of Soapbox. Will it melt away like a bar of soap?