By Matt Rosoff [bio]
Posted: Oct. 23, 2006

The following is a chart accompanying an article published by Directions on Microsoft, an independent research firm focused exclusively on Microsoft strategy & technology. More samples of our content, as well as a list of upcoming articles and reports are also available.

The MSN, Windows Live, and Live brands include overlapping sets of Web sites and online services.

MSN includes all Microsoft consumer-oriented Web sites with content that is created or aggregated by professional editors. For many of these sites, most or all of the actual content is created by partners—for example, Careers & Jobs uses the Careerbuilder.com job listings service, Dating and Personals is an MSN-branded version of the Match.com online dating service, Money content is provided by CNBC, and Sports content is provided by Fox Sports. MSN also includes all of Microsoft's Internet access offerings, including dial-up ISP service; MSN Premium, a subscription service for broadband users that offers a specialized Web browser and e-mail client, as well as other software and services; and the MSN TV 2 Internet access service for specialized set-top boxes (the successor to WebTV).

Online communications services for consumers receive the Windows Live brand.

Outside of these categories, there is considerable overlap between MSN and Windows Live. Adding to the confusion, some Windows Live services recently dropped the "Windows" name—for instance, Windows Live Search is now merely Live Search. This Live brand is also being applied to online services for businesses, such as Windows Live Service Agents (a new automated customer support offering—see "Automated Support Company Acquired" in the Nov. 2006 issue of Update), Office Live (a set of online services and hosted applications for small businesses), CRM Live (a forthcoming online version of Microsoft's customer relationship management software for midsize businesses), and Live Meeting (an online virtual meeting service), as well as the Xbox Live online gaming service, which is overseen by a completely different part of the company.

Given this overlap and the confusion it could create among advertisers, partners, and end users, further branding changes are likely.