Throwback: Inside MSN (Premium)

MSN, as you may recall, debuted as a traditional dial-up Internet service that was bundled with Windows 95. In fact, this service played a major role in Microsoft’s antitrust woes during the latter half of that decade, with Microsoft narrowly (and temporarily) averting disaster----and a delayed Windows 95 launch----by agreeing to also place links to competing online services like America Online and CompuServe in the product.

As it turns out, AOL and its ilk had nothing to fear from MSN. Despite some truly unique and innovative features----users navigated through MSN using Windows Explorer windows, as if they were navigating their file system----MSN failed early and often, and Microsoft quickly recast it as a standalone dial-up service that came with its own customized version of Internet Explorer. I actually used and liked MSN for a few years in the mid- to late-90s.

But then MSN evolved again, and this time what Microsoft did made more sense strategically: MSN became the place where Microsoft could ship and quickly update applications that were tied to web services. It could do so outside of the then-lengthy Windows development cycle----which, post-Windows XP, got quite lengthy indeed thanks to Longhorn----and allow Microsoft to better compete with web-only companies and services.

With this history as a backdrop, I headed to Microsoft’s Red West campus in Redmond, Washington, to find out why so many key players from the Windows organization had moved over to MSN. And my resulting write-up, called MSN: The Inside Story, contained all the answers.

This is a big one.
MSN: The Inside Story
MSN was birthed in controversy and was then somewhat of a joke in the online community for several years. But about five years ago [in 2000], MSN found its grove. Since then, this Microsoft division has become the most unheralded success story at the software giant, all while consistently nipping away at past perceptions and prejudices. Most important, perhaps, MSN is also making headway against the competition. While online giants such as AOL, Google, and Yahoo! still stand in its way, MSN has unleashed a startling array of integrated products and services over the past year. And this, I'm told, is just the start.

So here is the story of MSN's rebirth as an Internet services powerhouse. In part one, I quickly examine the convoluted history of MSN, which has been repurposed and re-imagined repeatedly during its decade-long life. In part two, you'll learn about the internal reorganization that finally put the division on the right path, the new customer-centric mantra that drives all of its product development, and its historic decision to take on Google in search. In part three, I'll examine MSN's other services, including MSN Messenger, MSN Spaces, and MSN Music, and Hotmail.
Part One: Beginnings
In the mid-1990's, Microsoft was at a crossroads as it struggled to reinvent itself during the ascendancy of the Internet. It's then-u...