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So long, So.cl: Microsoft closes the social network you've never heard of

Say goodbye to the content-sharing network for students that Microsoft was operating under the radar.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
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So.cl users bid goodbye to the service.

 So.cl

Microsoft is closing its social network. You didn't know Microsoft had a social network? Well, that could be why it's shutting down.

So.cl looks a bit like content-sharing networks such as Tumblr or Pinterest. It launched nearly five years ago in May 2012 as an experiment primarily aimed at students and younger people.

Microsoft's Fuse Labs, which specialises in wacky ideas like this, announced today that the service would close on 15 March.

Fuse Labs bid farewell to So.cl users with a blog post. "In supporting you, Socl's unique community of creators," the post read, "we have learned invaluable lessons in what it takes to establish and maintain community as well as introduce novel new ways to make, share and collect digital stuff we love."

Among these novel elements were So.cl features called riffs, picotales, video parties, blinks and Kodu.