Microsoft YouTube Clone Coming

Microsoft’s new YouTube competitor will be all about user generated videos if its name, Soapbox, is any indication (Hunterstrat calls it “personal whine”).

There aren’t many details yet, but LiveSide is saying this will be a MSN, not Live.com product, and will eventually be launched at soapbox.msn.com. The feature set includes:

• Upload videos in almost any format—like from your video or digital camera (maximum file size is currently 100MB)
• Tag and categorize your videos to make it easy for other people to find them
• Watch original videos and browse for new ones at the same time
• Set up your own personal RSS feeds for videos you’re interested in
• Use your Windows Live Spaces profile with Soapbox on MSN Video
• Embed a video on your Web site or blog

This information as well as the screen shot below is taken directly from LiveSide, there are no other sources at this point. I have an email in to Microsoft PR for a comment but I certainly don’t expect an answer before Monday.

I agree with Nathan Weinberg – it’s extemely odd that Microsoft is launching this under the MSN brand instead of live.com. All of their recent web services have been released under Live.com, including their recent video search product. And MSN Spaces was recently rebranded as Live Spaces. The best way to ensure that this service gets immediate traction would be to link it directly to Live.com, as Myspace has done with its own video product.

More on this as it develops.