Service aggregation and organization are among the keys to channeling your “social energy” efficiently, says Microsoft.
Ever felt overwhelmed by all the unopened emails in your inbox, or notifications on your Facebook account? A survey carried out by Microsoft to identify the social media habits of people across the Asia-Pacific region shows that nearly half of Asians feel inundated by the deluge of information online.
On average, people are active on at least three social networks—in Singapore, over 60 percent of respondents are on more than one social network. More than 70 percent of respondents estimated that only a quarter or less of the contacts on their “friends” list can be considered close friends, and in Singapore, this figure is almost 90 percent. Furthermore, an overwhelming majority of Singaporean respondents claimed that only a quarter or less of the updates they receive via social networks are important or relevant.
Speaking at the launch of the new Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger 2011 and Windows Live Essentials 2011 by Microsoft on Oct. 28 at House @ Dempsey, Haresh Khoobchandani, Chief Marketing Officer for Microsoft’s Consumer & Online business, said, “Technology is supposed to enrich our lives, not weigh us down. With this survey, we wanted to understand three things: how people are handling information in the digital world, why they might be feeling overwhelmed and how we can simplify their world. In essence, we want to show people how they can boost their social energy by efficiently organizing their multiple social networks.” The term “social energy,” coined by Scott Young, a blogger, refers to the time and energy users expend on social media, such as instant chat, Facebook and Twitter.
The Save Social Energy movement, started by Microsoft in October, exhorts users to be more organized and set aside time to de-clutter their inboxes, alongside being more consciously selective and discerning of who they accept as “friends” on Facebook as well as activating filters to keep out junk mail.
To solve the problem of exerting unnecessary social energy to manage multiple social networks, Microsoft has aggregated some of the most popular social media services into one place in its revamped Windows Live Messenger. The new Windows Messenger integrates into the things users are already doing, so they can stay in touch with their friends and loved ones anytime, anywhere, across the mobile phone, on the PC and anywhere on the web. “Managing multiple social networks means using unnecessary social energy, and aggregating information into one place definitely seems like the way forward. This is one key benefit that Windows Live Messenger offers through integration with popular sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and My Space,” said Gavin Tan, co-founder of the Save Social Energy Movement.
Some new features to look out for in Windows Live Messenger are the ability to use Facebook chat, do video chats in High-Definition, selecting your favorite friends and getting richer status updates—all this from the new Windows Messenger interface.
Additionally, upgrades in the Windows Live Essentials 2011 allows the Windows Live Mesh file synchronization application to synch up a user’s files and folders from different computers, including Macbooks. In short, users can access all their files and apps from virtually anywhere through remote desktops—score one for information organization indeed.
