Hands-On With So.cl, Microsoft’s Social Search Site for Students

Hands-On With So.cl, Microsoft’s Social Search Site for Students
23/05/2012 by Samantha Murphy on Mashable



Microsoft’s new site So.cl — which combines social networking and search — is giving college students a platform to learn and collect information, news and pictures from around the web. But can the latest social network truly stand out in an already-crowded social space?

Since So.cl borrows and builds from a bevvy of existing sites — and doesn’t aim to replace sites such as Facebook and Twitter — it has the potential to take off, especially among its target audience.

Following a series of tests at universities including the University of Washington, Syracuse University and New York University since December 2011, So.cl — pronounced “social” — officially launched over the weekend. The model allows you to create and share posts based mainly on Internet searches, but it also features many standard social features such as sharing text, photos and videos.


So.cl was first developed after Microsoft FUSE Labs staffers analyzed data from Facebook, Twitter and Bing, tracking how shared URLS spread around the web.

“We started to think about how we could create an experience around that — about making search social and making it easy to share rich, beautiful posts without having to leave your network,” said Lili Cheng, general manager of FUSE Labs, on Microsoft’s research site.

So.cl is intuitive, allowing users to easily navigate the platform, follow others, set up feeds and search popular trending topics. But the site boasts many traits we’ve seen before — its layout is similar to Pinterest in that users can create boards and registration is currently limited to college students. (Remember the early days of Facebook?) Its streamlined news feed also resembles Google+’s ultra-white minimalist design.

However, So.cl still differentiates itself in various ways, such as with its fun and engaging “viewing parties” feature. Whether you decide to watch a music video or an old reel of bloopers from Two and a Half Men, users can pop in and out of chat rooms that play video footage. This opens up the floor for discussion. (Note: Since So.cl is still young, we noticed that the chatting within these rooms has been relatively quiet.)



The network also showcases profiles from users in the community, flashing their interests with pictures of, for example, their favorite cuisines and bands. This allows members to connect with new people based on topics about which they feel most passionate. However, since it’s an open community, we also saw some graphic images that might catch some people off guard, including Osama bin Laden’s alleged death photos and a GIF of a couple engaging in some intimacy. You can, of course, unfollow certain users and set up restrictions.

Although So.cl requires you to sign in via Facebook or Windows Live, the good news is that it doesn’t automatically post searches, comments or likes to your Facebook stream unless you elect to do so. But be mindful — every search you do on the site is actually public unless you indicate via its search bar that you want restrictions. Right now, you can’t limit searches to those who you follow. In order for users to truly be at ease, more privacy options will likely roll out in the near future.

What do you think about So.cl? Do you think its model is poised for success? Let us know in the comments.




Source: Mashable
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Tearful adieu to rare genius

funeral prayers of Arfa Karim

LAHORE – Scores of people, including Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, ministers, MNAs, MPAs, politicians, army personnel, students, members of the bereaved family and ordinary citizens, attended the funeral prayers of the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional Arfa Karim Randhawa at Khalid Masjid in Cavalry Ground on Sunday. The IT wizard died at the Combined Military Hospital Lahore on Saturday night.

Tearful classmates of the rare genius and a large number of women also reached the mosque to see her for the last time. People hug each other to share their grief over a national loss. After the funeral, the Arda’s coffin, wrapped in the national flag, was taken to the ambulance for shifting it to her ancestral village (Chak 4, Ram Dewali) in Faisalabad.

Mian Shahbaz Sharif was one of the pallbearers when the coffin was taken to the ambulance. Offering his deepest condolences with Arfa’s father, Shahbaz Sharif said the demise of Arfa Karim “is a national loss.” The other participants said the nation had been deprived of its most genius daughter. Paying her tributes, Arfa’s tearful classmates said they had lost their best company.

A saddened Amjad Karim Randhawa said he was proud of his daughter. Accepting the desire of Almighty Allah, Randhawa said that instead of mourning her demise there was need for taking pride in thinking about ideas of the departed soul. Referring to the life of the world’s IT prodigy, her father said that Arfa was a spark that “got attention and love from everyone on the globe.”

Expressing satisfaction over her treatment at the Combined Military Hospital Lahore, Randhawa said doctors their provided his daughter best possible medical treatment. He thanked Microsoft Chief Bill Gates, the doctors and the entire Pakistani nation for making sincere efforts and offering dua for her recovery.

Meanwhile, condolences continued to pour in from every segment of the society including ruling elite and the opposition, military circles and bureaucracy and business community. People shared their grief over the internet, sending messages on emails, sharing feelings on Facebook and Twitter.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan expressed sorrow and grief over the sad demise of Afra Karim. “She was an unusual talent who at a very young age mastered software technology and won international recognition. Her tragic death is a huge loss for the family and for the entire nation. May God rest her soul in eternal peace and give courage to the bereaved family to bear this terrible loss,” Imran prayed.

Expressing condolence with the members of the family, Shahbaz Sharif said that Arfa Karim was the glittering star of Pakistan and she made the whole nation proud by achieving the prominent place in IT at a very young age. The CM prayed that may Allah Almighty rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage and strength to the members of the bereaved family to bear the irreparable loss with fortitude.

Born in 1995, Randhawa came to limelight after becoming the youngest Microsoft Certified Professionals in the world in 2004 at the age of 9. She kept that title until 2008. She was invited by Bill Gates to visit the Microsoft Headquarters in the US. She also wrote a poem about Bill Gates. In 2005, Arfa Karim received the Fatimah Jinnah Gold Medal in the field of Science and Technology and Salaam Pakistan Youth Award. Arfa also received the President’s Pride of Performance Award, the youngest ever recipient of high level civil award granted to people showing excellence in their respective fields over a long period of time. She also represented Pakistan on various international forums. In November 2006, Arfa was invited by Microsoft to be a part of the keynote session in the Tech-Ed Developers conference held in Barcelona.

The theme of the conference was “Get ahead of the game” and Arfa was presented as a true specimen of being ahead of the game. She was the only Pakistani among over 5000 developers in that conference.

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