There"s been a lot of talk lately about Microsoft"s efforts to, for example, acquire Skype or increase its Xbox business or its next version of Windows. However the company has also been very quietly working on another and totally different project; a web site devoted to covering the public sector part of the nation. The web site (or digital magazine as Microsoft calls it) is called Publicyte and Microsoft launched the site earlier this week.
In a note on the web site from its editor Dr. Mark Drapeau he states, "Every day at Publicyte, we will discuss cutting-edge technology, share public sector stories, and provide thought leadership about how American progress and public good are being both disrupted and benefited by the rapid innovation era we are living through." Currently articles on the web site include how law enforcement has been using technology to catch child predators, how Microsoft is assisting the Voter Information Project to help citizens learn more about elections and how the "&" in "R&D" works via a Microsoft made infographic.
According to PC World, Publicyte is part of a new and small seven person group at Microsoft called the office of civic innovation. It has its headquarters in Washington DC. Microsoft isn"t doing all of this totally out of the goodness of its heart. The PC World article states that Microsoft has been competing with one of its big rivals, Google, to provide technology and software to the public sector indistry. The launch of this special office and of the Publicyte web site seem to be launched as a way to better show that Microsoft cares about this particular division of business.