Microsoft rolling out new MSN, with 30+ changes since preview |
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Microsoft rolling out new MSN, with 30+ changes since preview
Microsoft will be rolling out its overhauled MSN to U.S. users starting today, with more than 30 tweaks and new features since the company first previewed the revamped Internet portal last fall. Among them: A minor concession to the old-school users who preferred MSN's longtime blue background to the new white version.
"The design of the new page was largely positively received, but we heard from some MSN loyalists that they missed our traditional blue background," MSN says in a blog post. "So, we tested many different versions of our design – including an entirely blue background – and it turns out most people prefer the clean, white background we introduced with the preview – with a touch of blue highlighting the top of the page."
Microsoft's Bing search engine plays prominently into the redesign, with a big orange button labeled "Web Search" next to the Bing search box at the top of the page. Other new features will highlight trends on Twitter, including tweets from the user's neighborhood, while letting people personalize the new MSN Local section to track up to three cities across the country.
In addition, the new MSN will personalize news headlines based on the previous viewing habits of the particular user -- highlighting entertainment news, for example, for someone who has shown an interest in that, according to a report by Joe Tartakoff of PaidContent.org.
The preview had introduced new features including Facebook and Twitter integration on the MSN home page, and those remain in the final version.
Microsoft says it received more than 70,000 pieces of customer feedback after rolling out the preview, which had originally been slated to be rolled out broadly earlier this year. In January, MSN's Bob Visse told TechFlash that users weren't click as much on content in the preview, compared with the traditional MSN home page. MSN's Scott Moore now tells PaidContent that click-through rates are up in the company's testing.
The new site will be rolled out to more than 100 million MSN users in the U.S. starting today, ramping up to the full MSN user base over the next few weeks.
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