Microsoft: Outlook.com users are "customers, not inventory"

[nsane.forums]

Microsoft has made a big slam against Google and its massive use of Gmail email ads with Outlook.com, with a Microsoft spokesperson saying, "We see our users as customers, not inventory."

Microsoft's newly launched Outlook.com email service has already generated a lot of interest from Internet users. The company has said that over 1 million people signed on to the service just six hours after it launched in beta form on Tuesday. One thing that makes Outlook.com different than Google's popular Gmail service is that Microsoft has promised, "Outlook is private—you’re in control of your data, and your personal conversations aren’t used for ads."

This a big contrast to Google's approach who actually scans the emails that a person gets in his Gmail box and then generates ads based on those emails. So how will Microsoft make money from all those new Outlook.com users? Wired.com said it tried and failed to get any specifics from Microsoft on that topic but Microsoft could be using this as a loss-leader platform.

However, it looks like Microsoft will be taking a much more restrained approach. Indeed, an unnamed Microsoft spokesperson slammed Google and Gmail to the ground, saying, "We see our users as customers, not inventory."

This isn't the first time Microsoft has had issues with Google and Gmail. A year ago, Microsoft launched its very funny Gmail Mail parody video that showed how Gmail uses keywords to generate ads targets at specific users.

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