November 2, 2005 Comments
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In a move sure to be seen as a direct response to Google's new partnership with Sun's OpenOffice, Microsoft announced this morning that they would be offering up online versions of some Windows software and of their popular MS Office applications. The new services will be supported by advertising that will be sold through Microsoft's new MSN adCenter interface.
From MediaWeek:
New Internet services called Windows Live and Office Live take a page from Google's book by offering free software supported by targeted advertising. The programs will include placements through MSN adCenter, a wide-ranging platform that advertisers will be able to use to run ads on everything from search and Web pages to mobile devices and Internet television.
Windows Live includes Microsoft's e-mail, instant messaging and anti-virus programs. Office Live is an Internet-based version of the popular suite of productivity tools Outlook, Excel and Live Meeting. It has an ad-supported small-business version that includes a Web site, storage and five e-mail accounts. It is slated for release early next year, Microsoft said.
It seems odd to me to remember that it wasn't so long ago that sites were discovering that they were going to have a rough time turning a profit based on advertising alone. Companies were shutting down left and right because they simply couldn't support their business model without some type of pay-for-service program.
These days, with contextual ads and search based ads such a hot property, it seems like every service you can think of can be supported by advertising.
From CNet:
The Office Live service is mostly targeted at small businesses, said Rajesh Jha, general manager of information worker services at Microsoft, who presented the demo of the service. He noted that 28 million of the world's 42 million businesses are companies with fewer than 10 employees.
Jha showed how small businesses like these can use Office online to set up Web sites with custom domain names and multiple e-mail addresses--all free. Initially, these sites will not carry ads, but Microsoft sees the feature as a revenue opportunity and expects it to eventually be ad-supported.
Time will tell how all of this will work out, but it is inspiring to see so many new innovations growing from a concept as simple as text-based ads.
Jennifer Laycock is the Editor of Search Engine Guide, an educational web site aimed at translating the search marketing world into something that small business owners can understand. Jennifer specializes in common sense search engine marketing, viral marketing and customer outreach via social media and blogs. A former search marketing consultant and in-house trainer, Jennifer’s clients have included companies like Verizon, American Greetings and Highlights for Children. Her primary clients now are a little girl named Elnora and a little boy named Emmitt.
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