Microsoft is closing its Socl network next week

Microsoft is shutting down its Socl community on March 15th. The software maker originally launched its own social network more than four years ago, and the company has been experimenting with it ever since. Microsoft’s Socl network started off life as a mysterious social network project from its FUSE research group, with a number of creation tools to build GIFs and quick shareable images.

Microsoft even launched its own Windows Phone, Android, and iOS apps for Socl, but there never seemed to be a clear plan for its social network. It’s not clear whether any data from Socl will be made available to the users of the social network before its closure, but given the limited usage it’s likely Microsoft will just take the site offline.

In a blog post announcing the March 15th closure, the Socl team thanked “a supportive community of like-minded people” for using the service over the past four years. “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.”