Windows Live Reaches Next Gen

Microsoft today announced the next generation of Windows Live, offering a single Live ID, and a single, customized download to get Windows Live Mail, Messenger, Spaces, Photo Gallery, Events, and Writer. There’s also the ability to connect through Windows Live for Windows mobile, and a way for parents to block inappropriate online content for their kids through Windows Live OneCare Family Safety.

What does this mean for advertisers? “It’s Windows Live, a large audience across all these products,” said Tim Waddell, director of display product marketing for Microsoft Advertiser and Publisher Solutions group. Microsoft is moving into the direction of social networking through deals with Facebook and Digg, among others, but if it’s about the conversations, Waddell said, “We’ve been having those conversations over e-mail and IM for years.”

To demonstrate the reach the Windows Live platform has with consumers, Microsoft released research it conducted with TNS Media Intelligence to track the conversations and interactions users have in Microsoft’s playground. Research finds that 60 percent of the Windows Live audience is within the 18 to 34 year-old age bracket. The younger audience is the core advertising demographic said to be difficult to reach.

The research finds users grouped, or netted, communications media categories across Live. The categories include social media, Internet sites, online media, online media on mobile phones, and social media on mobile phones. Microsoft plans to add in Xbox Live and mobile platforms in the mix in the future. Research looked at the retail, movies and entertainment, financial services, and pharmaceutical verticals.