After a long period of closed beta testing , Microsoft made the beta version of its social network , Socl , available to everyone on Tuesday . Socl initially launched this May . It 's a search-meets-social networking website that looks more like Pinterest than Facebook , and has until now been open only to invited Microsoft employees and college students . Now , everyone with a Microsoft or Facebook account can access it . The sign-up process is effortless -- users simply connect their account with Socl . They can then start sharing content ( e.g . photos , videos , links ) , and comment on other members ' posts . Socl 's forever-scrolling front page , which shows posts from all users , can feel a bit random . Also , though the site offers categorization by tags , it 's not that easy to find the content you want . Overall , Socl is a solid time-waster at this point . As more people join , the site should become more usable , but the question is : With all the social networks and content-sharing sites around , will Socl ever reach critical mass ? What do you think ? Share your thoughts in the comments below .
Microsoft opens Socl -- its social-meets-search site . Launched for testing in May , the site remains an open beta test . The company says it has more than 100 million users and that it's been growing at a rate of about 1 percent per month since launching last year.