Microsoft to refocus Soapbox video site

Microsoft is giving up trying to chase YouTube directly by re-purposing Soapbox, a competing user-generated video site, as a place for citizen journalists and bloggers to submit videos on relevant news topics on MSN. Soapbox, which launched in 2006 as Microsoft's answer to YouTube was late to the race, as most Microsoft Internet ventures are (see LiveSearch/Bing), and never attracted a significant audience.

Now, Microsoft wants to make the property more viable by using it for a tighter focus and trendier purpose, but questions still remain about whether it will be well-trafficked. Microsoft Vice President Erik Jorgenson told Ina Fried, of CNET News, that the company wants Soapbox to stand for something and add to the company's overall video strategy. 

For more:
- see Fried's article on CNET.com here

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