Microsoft’s new classified product, Live.com Expo, has started to roll out additional beta testers.
Expo is centered on the idea that people will trust others within a group, and so is allowing classifieds networks within groups. Users can choose to search classifieds just within their immediate instant messaging buddies, or within an email group (such as anyone with a boeing.com email address), or “everyone”. This week they added all University of Washington students to Expo, and Garry Wiseman, who is leading the project, tells me that more are on the way. There is no set date yet on when Expo will be live to everyone.
Additional screen shots are below. I also included a basic screen shot in my last post on Expo.
It’s Microsoft… I already don’t like it.
I’d like to hear the reviewer’s thoughts on Expo Live after all you have access to use it
Well, I have a few thoughts:
1. Its an extremely well done interface, and the ajax is perfect. It even works in firefox without any errors.
2. The idea of grouping people by email address so that I can search just within my university or company is brilliant. They’ve successfully created networks within networks.
3. The marketing power of microsoft and live.com will help a lot too.
I think if they’re smart, they’ll go grassroots and build up the user base by expanding out from Seattle over an extended period of time. Similar to Craigslist. ‘Going global’ out of the gate is one of the problems Google’s Base is experiencing – very little information as you drill down locally.
Thanks for the insight Robert…
Mike, do they have a way to handle the financial transactions within Expo? Or do you have to contact the person by email/phone to arrange the sale?
So I’ve spoken about this trend a few month before it happened and I’ve been trying to drill it into Yahoo! since I drank so much of their coolaid last summer while I was out there. This is an emerging space and I am impressed to see that MSN is out in front of the three with its understanding of social networks. Google is a close second with chat build into their Gmail, but thats a product feature not a wholly extensible new product.
The interface looks awesome — although predictably bland.
I think this is a very interesting move from MSFT. I cant wait to play with it
Slava,
No insight… Just personal opinion.
They may be a little biased though, because my team and I are working on a project nearly identical to what Microsoft is releasing…
I wonder if Microsoft is going to advertise the hell out of it, or just let it play like it is.
The original concept of Tribe Networks was that classified advertising would work better within the trust circles of existing groups, or “Tribes”. This focus – which wasn’t something they publicly discussed – is why their investors included the Washington Post and Knight Ridder. While Tribe is still going, it’s fair to say that this concept didn’t work for them. Maybe Microsoft can do better, but I am not convinced. More on Onotech.
Interesting. I loved the Expo idea from the start – it’s surprising to see something this innovative coming out of Microsoft. With MS behind it, it’s likely to gain some traction, IMHO.
The classifieds market has become a strange animal, funny to see Microsoft there. I just don’t think they can improve much on exisiting models. We still have to see a functional crossover between social networking and classifieds.
I’m very excited about Expo. I agree that this is a bold new move by Microsoft. Looks like this will be a major e-bay competitor if played right. One thing though I don’t notice any kind of payment mechanism between buyer and seller. PayPal would be a good choice but is owned by e-bay so probably not a good idea.