Microsoft is launching “Microsoft Start” beginning today, September 7, a personalized news feed that has been integrated into Windows 11 and is accessible online, on iOS, and Android. Microsoft Start is a rebrand of its MSN and Microsoft News sites. Like MSN News and Microsoft News, Microsoft Start is a personalized news feed and a bunch of other informational content like weather, sports, stocks, and traffic. Microsoft Start is quite similar to the MSN feed and Microsoft News. Microsoft is rebranding these into Microsoft Start and integrating the feed into the Windows 11 widgets section and the Windows 10 taskbar.
Much like Microsoft News, Microsoft Start includes news and media channels from more than 1,000 publishers. Microsoft uses AI and machine learning algorithms to sort through which news is presented to users and to personalize content based on interests and how you engage with content. There’s also some “human moderation” involved, but Microsoft did lay off dozens of journalists and editorial workers at its Microsoft News and MSN organizations last year, so it’s not clear how involved editors will be.
Microsoft Start will surface top stories, personalized recommendations, and sports scores or the weather in its feed. It’s very much the combination of Microsoft’s efforts in recent years with MSN, Microsoft News, and the taskbar widget in Windows 10. MSN won’t be going away, but Microsoft Start will be the new brand for Microsoft News. Although Microsoft already uses “Start” to refer to its Windows Start Menu and Start Button. Officials are using the tagline “Start with the information you need” to explain why they’re rebranding the news feed with “Start.”
The standalone website will be accessible from all modern web browsers, and the mobile versions of Microsoft News will be rebranded to Microsoft Start. Once Windows 11 launches next month, Microsoft Start will also be available in widget form from the dedicated section of the new OS. Microsoft Edge will also include a Microsoft Start feed on the new tab page. For those interested in trying out Microsoft Start, it’s available online right now or through the iOS and Android mobile apps.
Olagoke Ajibola is a creative writer and content producer with an eye for details and excellence. He has a demonstrated history of telling stories for TV, Film and Online. Aside from being fascinated by the power of imagination, his other interest are travel, sport, reading and meeting people.
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