Microsoft Teases New Social Site Called ''Tulalip''
Microsoft "accidentally" revealed its social project codenamed Tulalip, but then quickly removed the site once word of its appearance began to circulate the Web.
Wednesday brought reports that Microsoft purchased the socl.com domain name based on a WHOIS record that revealed the Redmond company as the proud new owner. Then just one day later, Microsoft "accidentally" launched a teaser landing page revealing an upcoming "social search" service called "Tulalip." The site was quickly removed and replaced with a message reading thanks for stopping by, but not before news of the site began to spread like wildfire.
"Socl.com is an internet design project from a team in Microsoft Research which was mistakenly published on the web," the message current reads. "We didn't mean to, honest."
Yes, the message uses the word honest.
At this point, there's only speculation as to what the site will provide. Before it was pulled, the welcome splash page (seen above) featured both Facebook and Twitter login buttons, an option for the site to save a login cookie, and a check box for agreeing to its Terms of Service.
"With Tulalip you can Find what you need and Share what you know easier than ever," a message promised just above a set of Windows Phone 7-like tiles framing various people. The website URL itself is a play on the word "social" and follows the same four-letter format used with Microsoft's search engine Bing.
Fusable notes that "Tulalip" is the name of a group of Native American tribes located not far from Redmond, Washington, where Microsoft is headquartered, but there's a good chance the service may eventually be renamed as Socl (that's a guess based on the URL). But as to when the service will launch is still a mystery. Microsoft is sticking to its explanation that Tulalip is merely an internal project.
"Socl.com is an internal design project from one of Microsoft’s research teams which was mistakenly published to the web," a representative said in a statement.
Before the site was removed, further investigation into the Twitter aspect showed that the Tulalip site could (1) read tweets from your timeline (2) see who you follow, and follow new people (3) update your profile (4) post tweets for you. The Facebook aspect wasn't working at the time of testing, nevertheless Tulalip/Socl sounds like a possible web-based social client like Tweetdeck rather than a full-fledged social hangout. It may even incorporate Skype.
Still, it doesn't seem coincidental that Microsoft "leaked" its social project just after Google goes live with Google+. As Microsoft indicated, it's nothing official so everything at this point is pure speculation. Of course, Google+ was mere rumor and speculation until its launch just two weeks ago. That said, there's no question that Microsoft leaked the site on purpose just to give us something to write about and to get social bugs all fired up. Looks like it worked.
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Tulalip is a stupid name.
I'm sorry, but I can't think of anyone who would be more incapable of delivering a decent social network than Microsoft.
So, do they pull Skype from Facebook?
If it can pull together facebook, skype and my email all on one well designed web page then I might actually use it.
It's a shame that despite owning the major part of the OS market, MS couldn't tap into the social aspect of internet. Just imagine what MS could have achieved with millions of people logging in daily and spending hours in a "Social Windows".
I disagree completely. Xbox Live is probably the second greatest social network (second only to facebook).
Awesome, won't be long until Tulalip (reminds me of vaginas for some reason) is forced on Hotmail users.
One day you'll just have a Tulalip page. Great. Probably won't have an off switch either. The way to turn it off would be to yell at MS support.
@LORD_ORION
interesting concept, you want to complain about a e-mail service that is provided gratis free to you......
With so many social networks what would the benefits be of having accounts for them all? If syncing among the popular Social sites is possible I can see some good things happening in the future. I love facebook, twitter, Circles, and even other social networking sites.
Maybe Microsoft can bring them all together !
One OS to rule them all o.O
Anyway Microsoft pours tons of money into R&D of ideas from all over the computing field, many of which never see the light of day. It wouldn't surprise me if Microsoft is designing a social site.
Don't forget that Microsoft is a big investor in Facebook, so I doubt they'd be creating something to directly compete with it.
http://www.businessinsider.com/mic [...] ok-2010-11
It's a shame that despite owning the major part of the OS market, MS couldn't tap into the social aspect of internet. Just imagine what MS could have achieved with millions of people logging in daily and spending hours in a "Social Windows".
1 word - Antitrust.
Tulalip is a stupid name.
So is twitter lol
Only Twits Twitter, or is that TITS Twitter!
M$ is becoming that creepy old guy at the club on teen night hitting on the ugly chicks. Time to go back to the home grampa.
M$ is becoming that creepy old guy at the club on teen night hitting on the ugly chicks. Time to go back to the home grampa.
Why so butthurt? Some smooth older guy did your girlfriend?
Judging by the fact that nobody actually chooses to use Microsoft products unless they're forced to, this is going to flop about as hard as Windows 7 Phone did.
Really, they suck of late. XP was a turd until SP1, but after that, decent. XP with Office 2003 was good, but Windows 7 still has too many Vista-isms for enterprise use, and Office 2007/2010 are just laughable. Microsoft strongly discourages their enterprise customers from deploying 64 bit Office 2007/2010, they can't even make the 64 bit version properly open files created with 32bit Office 2003/2007. And people wonder why Open Office can't support all of Microsoft's formats properly.
They'll be all but extinct by 2020.
/rant
It's a shame that despite owning the major part of the OS market, MS couldn't tap into the social aspect of internet. Just imagine what MS could have achieved with millions of people logging in daily and spending hours in a "Social Windows".
It's called Xbox Live.
Please just go away MS, tired of all your copy cat crap.
Microsoft won't design a social network website in the same context as Facebook, because they know they can't compete. That's why Microsoft buy Facebook shares by the bucketload instead, and integrate their things with Facebook.
I'd guess Tulalip was more intended to be an experiment into social search, rather than social networking.
It might be like one of those web-based social network clients.
By the way, I like Tulip better than Tulalip.
I thought Spaces was a good idea honestly, Kinda like Myspace, which i hardly ever used anyways.
But the "Social Scene" probably needs one just of that, for the fact of a "Social Scene" anyways. Facebook in terms is nice, simple, and "sweet" to say. Probably alot of pages are fairly similar to another, right?
Social Sites are something different aren't they?
Idk, maybe after awhile, the Social Sites will be yesterdays and yesteryears thing to do on the internet social, and instead you'll have your own webpage, that might tend to be its own "Social Site", or something. Maybe, right?
Why not just buy facebook.
Internal design projects don't require properly set up public domains. I've never seen a company that is so bad at "leaking" things.
Why not just buy facebook.
Why? Facebook is worth well over $60bn. Why buy a company of a similar value to your own and risk yet more complaints about Microsoft trying to own an entire market when it can develop a new social network for a fraction of the price that will most likely tie in with others reasonably well and provide competition?
Besides which, Facebook can't keep growing forever. I know some people who have abandoned Facebook completely and gone over to Google+. Social networks could end up causing a second dot-com bubble burst.
I wanted to edit my last message and put this in, unfortunately that particular facility appears to be unavailable, so I apologise for the two consecutive posts.