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http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2212947/microsoft-friends-social-networks

The above article discusses Microsoft’s plans to integrate their Windows Live system into leading online social network services. Windows Live is a set of online features that can be accessed through a browser that include instant messaging, search engines, and web security. Microsoft seeks to open up new ties to networks such as Facebook, Bebo, Hi5, LinkedIn, and Tagged to allow subscribers to easily and securely exchange information among these different networks. Under this new partnership, Windows Live users would be able to connect to peers and friends located in these closed networks without opening up private information to outside networks.

The rise of social networking giants such as Facebook have created multiple bridging opportunities among existing internet services such as Windows Live, and have also created problems in information privacy. Windows Live seeks to bridge massive components online in a way that opens up new paths yet protects privacy and ensures security for its users. It is plausible that this development, if successful, could be the first of several steps toward integrating all social networking sites. While multiple online networks may become integrated, it is also important to note that they may not be necessarily connected.  The networks would remain mostly private, but users would be able to maintain contacts among the different sites within their own respective networks. Microsoft is not necessarily bridging networks and creating new paths, but they are making existing networks more open and powerful.