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Microsofts MSN Spaces blogging features are set for a major upgrade to incorporate a revenue-sharing advertising option and a new partnership with Amazon.com, according to various sources.
What Liveside.Net, and other Microsoft watchers are describing is the latest version of MSN Spaces, which is one of the most popular of the current class of free blogging features. The latest update is due imminently.
Blogs are Web sites that usually serve as online personal journals, small business storefronts or soap boxes for any number of topics. The content is homemade, and there is usually links to other Web pages of possible interest.
At 28.3 million and counting, blogs have matured into an online gathering place for hundreds of millions of people, and become a target for advertising and other types of marketing.
The latest scuttlebutt is that MSN Spaces is partnering with Getzville, N.Y.-based Kanoodle Inc., a provider of Web advertising. This way, MSN Spaces bloggers can choose ads to display, and share in revenues based on the number of clicks generated, according to the sources.
Amazon is reportedly playing a role in the advertising push, but additional details are not forthcoming as to how this will happen.
There are several other new features. MSN Space will now be integrated somehow with the Xbox 360 gaming system, and theres also “Live Contacts,” which automatically informs subscribers of any updated blog entries, according to the published accounts.
Representatives for Amazon, Microsoft and Kanoodle didnt immediately return calls seeking comment.