I recently wrote about the future of Yahoo and I claimed that Yahoo is a schizophrenic company with no clear flagship product. In many ways, Microsoft finds itself in the same situation.

Microsoft is a company with its hands in so many things. I would say their flagship product is mostly considered to be Windows. They have also succeeded with other products such as Microsoft Office. But, when it comes to the Internet, Microsoft is a little schizophrenic themselves. Proof of this may be Windows Live.

If you’re not quite sure what Windows Live actually is, you’re not alone. And this proves my point better than any blog post could.

Windows Live, according to Wikipedia, is the collective brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft. Some of it is online. Some of it is not. It was supposed to be a replacement for MSN, but MSN still exists. Confused? Me, too.

If you go to the LIVE homepage, you see a search box. A little bit of clicking around and you’re left thinking they’re just trying to copy Google. If we go to the Windows Live homepage (which is different), we see what appears to be a master list of all Live services. But, finding some of the LIVE services that I know exist is hard. And Microsoft doesn’t always seem to keep the “live” brand consistent. Perhaps I need a guide for the perplexed.

Several Live services are heading to the deadpool. Windows Live for TV is going the way of the dodo. Windows Live Expo is going bye-bye next month. Live Book Search is gone.

I think Microsoft is trying to do too many things – very similar to Yahoo. Their entire launch of Windows Live was screwed up from the start. It was total brand confusion. They were not consistent with how they used the “live” brand. It encompassed far too many, unrelated things. If Live is supposed to refer to all the internet-connected services that Microsoft does, then fine. But, I’m guessing.

This seems to be just part of the repeating pattern with Microsoft, though. Microsoft is primarily a company which produces software which runs on our computers. Microsoft has never really been that good when it comes to the Internet. They are consistent at bringing up the rear and trying to take over after somebody else blazes new territory. They are consistent in bringing too little to the table too late. There is nothing in Windows Live that is new. Sure, there are benefits to using Hotmail. MSN chat is nice (when it works). Bloggers would need to search hard to find a better blog client than Windows Live Writer (which I am writing this post in right now). But, with few exceptions, none of the Windows Live services are really groundbreaking. And couple that with the brand confusion, I can see why people go a little cross-eyed when it comes to Windows Live. And I would bet many don’t even know what it is.

I am certainly not saying Microsoft is clueless when it comes to the Internet. Their work on Live Mesh, for example, shows that they have some really bright people who do get it. But, Live Mesh isn’t generally known by the public at this point (except for those of us who follow tech for a living). Windows Live is the consumer oriented face of Microsoft’s only presence, and it is confusing as hell.

It is always interesting watching traditionalist software companies try to make the transition to an online world where software sits in the cloud. It is a completely different world and one which the old-timers don’t always execute as well.

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