If you didn’t hear about Microsoft launching their social networking website so.cl, you were not the only one. This news came as a surprise to a lot of people, because no one even knew that the company was releasing a social networking website. Microsoft released this one under the radar and even though a lot of people think it is Microsoft’s way of competing with Facebook, you would be wrong. Microsoft is saying that their social network should not be viewed as a potential competitor for Facebook and as a matter of fact, you can even log into So.cl with your Facebook credentials.

Believe it or not, this social networking website was actually released four months ago, but has only been open to the public at large for a couple days. Basically, the main purpose of this new social networking website is to combine social networking with search. Of course, Microsoft has been very verbal about the fact that this new social networking website is not meant to compete with Facebook in any way.

Microsoft offered up this quote below:

“We expect students to continue using products such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other existing social networks, as well as Bing, Google and other search tools,” Microsoft said. “We hope to encourage students to reimagine how our everyday communication and learning tools can be improved, by researching, learning and sharing in their everyday lives.” – Microsoft

When Microsoft launched So.cl, you could tell that they wanted to set themselves apart from other social networking websites by focusing more on learning and education. Apparently, the company is wanting to make it easy for student to be able to collaborate with each other and share results that they have found on search engines. They want students to be able to share photos, videos and stories that they have found on the internet. As for the theme of So.cl, you will not have to go through a major learning curve in order to operate the website. You will notice the theme is a lot like any other social networking platform.

It is nice to see that a social networking website that won’t be used as a time waster, but as a means to educate yourself. If you haven’t been to So.cl, you should check it out and get yourself an account.