Microsoft is entering the social networking market currently led by News Corp.’s MySpace.com and Friendster with its own entry, Wallop.The new company is being spun out from Microsoft IP Ventures, which was formed in 2003 and expanded last year to make Microsoft technologies available to appropriate start-ups for licensing. Both Microsoft and Cupertino, Calif.-based Bay Partners will provide funding for Wallop but did not specify how much, Microsoft said.Microsoft claimed the site, due to launch later this year, will offer users “an entirely new way for consumers to express their individuality online,” but did not explain further.In the process of developing products and services, companies occasionally create technologies that are not central to their core offerings, or that they are willing to share with others. Such technologies may then be licensed by outside parties to generate additional revenue for the company. The IP Ventures program also seeks to connect entrepreneurs and venture capitalists with technology, to form individual companies that will utilize the licensed technology.-Steven Schwankert, IDG News Service This article is posted on our Microsoft Informer page. For more news on the Redmond, Wash.-based powerhouse, keep checking in.Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost The steep cost of a poor data management strategy Without a data management strategy, organizations stall digital progress, often putting their business trajectory at risk. Here’s how to move forward. By Jay Limbasiya, Global AI, Analytics, & Data Management Business Development, Unstructured Data Solutions, Dell Technologies Jun 09, 2023 6 mins Data Management feature How Capital One delivers data governance at scale With hundreds of petabytes of data in operation, the bank has adopted a hybrid model and a ‘sloped governance’ framework to ensure its lines of business get the data they need in real-time. By Thor Olavsrud Jun 09, 2023 6 mins Data Governance Data Management feature Assessing the business risk of AI bias The lengths to which AI can be biased are still being understood. The potential damage is, therefore, a big priority as companies increasingly use various AI tools for decision-making. By Karin Lindstrom Jun 09, 2023 4 mins CIO Artificial Intelligence IT Leadership brandpost Rebalancing through Recalibration: CIOs Operationalizing Pandemic-era Innovation By Kamal Nath, CEO, Sify Technologies Jun 08, 2023 6 mins CIO Digital Transformation Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe