So.cl: Microsoft's unpopular social media platform to shut down

Microsoft launched a dedicated app for So.cl in Windows, Android and iOS platforms.

Microsoft

Microsoft's social media platform, So.cl, is going to close its doors to the users on March 15. The not so popular social media platform started almost four years ago. Microsoft did all that it could and went to great lengths to launch a dedicated app for So.cl in Windows, Android and iOS platforms. So.cl was initially devised by Microsoft FUSE Labs, keeping students in mind but later, anyone could join in to share their objective of "collaborative consumption, not communication."

In an emotional blog post, Microsoft quietly announced that they were calling it a day on their endeavour and thanked their users. "So.cl 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."

It is rumoured that So.cl was created by Microsoft to compete with Facebook. Unfortunately, it failed dismally to do so and, therefore, now remains a curious study on what really attracts the demographic to choose one social media platform over another. Google Plus, which was also launched to compete with Facebook and other leading social media platforms, hasn't seen much love in numbers. Ello, a quite hipster like an alternative to major social media platforms, managed to create quite a stir sometime back but now that also seems to have almost fizzled out when it came to proving its mettle.

This article was first published on March 9, 2017
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