Feb. 28, 2007

Last month, Lark, of Richmond, Va., got up on a soapbox of sorts and wrote to Inside MSN with an idea that articulates the sentiments of many MSN users:

"I'd like to see more stories about the average everyday Joe who is making a difference in his/her community or in the world."

Now with Soapbox on MSN Video, you can tell the story of such people. It's the fledgling user-upload video service where users can help to elevate perspectives from all corners of the world to all parts of cyberspace.

Say you catch a brave or uplifting incident on a video camera on your travels, or maybe want to trumpet a noteworthy story by interviewing a local hero. You can post your clip to Soapbox, which moved into open beta last week. Business Week has praised the new service as very easy to use.

In September, Catherine Holahan explored Soapbox's early incarnation in her "Best of the Web" column. "Soapbox is more than a Microsoft copy of rival sites. Sure, it has all the features that have become standard on top video-sharing sites, such as the ability to rate and bookmark videos as favorites. It includes fast downloads and uploads. But it also offers some unique capabilities that make it easier to share videos and find and search for clips."

That's the kind of review that revs Greg Chang, the project's lead planning manager who has focused on video for Microsoft since 2003.

"One of our main goals is to increase user engagement," Chang explains. "Our belief is we get people more engaged by providing outlets to participate in the creation of content and in the process of content programming and distribution."

Since Holahan's review in September, the Soapbox team has toiled to make the service even better. A frequently asked questions section explains the basics, from the genesis of its name to step-by-step directions on how to do everything from uploading to wisely tagging your video; the team's blog explores developments into the nuances of the program.

To me, as enjoyable as the actual video are the comments — from snarky to complimentary — left by people who are moved, amazed, chagrinned or aghast by what they've seen. Soapbox content can be any of a dozen formats and up to 100 MB in size.

Likewise exciting to Reed Price, editor in chief of MSN Entertainment and Video, is the way people are participating.

"We’ve already had some very interesting viral submissions — a twister breaks up a soccer game, a wild ride up a hill, a lucky rabbit and an unfortunate weapon. But we are most excited about the creative ways Soapbox can make MSN a more deeply engaging experience for our users."

My favorite is the lucky rabbit clip, because it's one small example of how together we can get more good news on MSN. While humorous submissions get a lot of clicks, the people category is ready for you to share videos of unheralded individuals, for instance.

Maybe that's an aspect of Soapbox that few people thought of when answering our associated quick question about who would use it. Of more than 1,900 replies, 56 percent said they would not give it a try.

Maybe they'd miss out on a lot. About 80 percent of Soapbox testers who took a survey about the experience of using it said they'd recommended it. Maybe you will, too. Take a harder look and offer some feedback.