And there I was yesterday, at the Next Web Conference 2010. Saw amazing demos of the new Windows Live Messenger and Messenger for iPhone by Angus Logan. Amongst the things Angus showed, what impressed me most were HD video chat (with sharing pictures etc. at the same time) and picture status. For picture status he just snapped a picture, edited it on the fly and set it as status, mega cool!
John Richards, Director of Windows Live Platform, told us some stats, most of which we’ve seen earlier in a blog post on Inside Windows Live. To share a local stat: 12% of all internet usage in the Netherlands consist of using Windows Live Messenger. He further emphasized that the new Windows Live messenger is not a new social network, it’s a social app. In other words: it pulls in info from other networking sites such as Facebook through partner APIs.
Contacts you’ve favorited, this can be any contact, including those pulled in, like facebook contacts, will be put on top in the feeds (social view). Confirmed is also that you will be able to chat with your Facebook contacts through the messenger client. Richards also said they will continue to invest in messenger as IM experience..adding lots of social elements. 
Also demoed, was Messenger Connect. Allow me to quote Ori Amiga on this one:
Messenger Connect brings the individual APIs we’ve had for a long time (Windows Live ID, Contacts API, Messenger Web Toolkit, etc.) together in a single API that’s based on industry standards and specifications (OAuth WRAP, ActivityStrea.ms, PortableContacts) and adds a number of new scenarios.
The new Messenger Connect provides developer partners with three big things:
- Instantly create a user profile and social graph
- Drive engagement directly through chat indirectly through social distribution
- Designing for easy integration in your technical environment
All this is done with the privacy of the consumer in mind. You own your data, you decide where you want to share what!
Of course I tried to get some answers for you all at the conference too. I asked about the software for Mac, if there is going to be a Windows live Essentials for Mac and which apps would be in that. I also asked what was going to happen with Live Mesh, it’s been horribly quiet around that one. As John Richards and Angus had already left by the time the conference allowed me to go hunt for answers, I asked our Dutch Online Business Group Lead, Derk Wagelaar, these questions. The Mac question remained unanswered and it was too early for the Live Mesh one (it’s all about messenger now)…so that’s to be continued. 
I tried to get this post out yesterday, but the battery of my netbook was running out (it lasts 8 hours). Also couldn’t find the concentration for writing the best post about it at the conference either (or maybe I just need more practice). I also didn’t get to meet and speak to all the persons I should have or wanted too either, but hey, guess that’s conferences for you…
More read of interest:
The Next Web – Microsoft demos Messenger Connect, a new social API
