Popfly is a service that allows users to create mashups using no code at all. Using a simple drag and drop interface you can select from a wide range of data elements (including popular sources like facebook, twitter, flickr etc) and combine that with a presentation element, like a photo viewer, datagrid and many, many more.
The potential combinations were almost incredible. You can then take this mashup and embed it in your website.
Sound pretty cool right ? Well sadly Microsoft are clipping the wings of Popfly (which was wierdly represented by 4 ducks, 3 yellow, one pink). As of August 24th 2009, Popfly will be shut down. This means anyone using these mashups will have sites (or sections of sites) that will stop working. If your someone using Popfly content, best to remove that element from your site prior to the end date.
I’d watched the progress of Popfly for the past 3 years, initially joining it in the Alpha phase. Unfortunately Popfly never made it to a full release. The current tag on the site still shows it in beta, despite actually being a pretty evolved product.
I have to say, I’m sad to see this project die, damn it those ducks were cute 😛
I think the most disappointing thing about the closure of Popfly is Microsoft haven’t provided the reason for why they’re discontinuing it, which leads me to guess it was from low usage numbers. It was never heavily promoted and without a full 1.0 release, it hardly had a chance at mainstream success.
Click the link to read the whole email or read more @ Popfly blog
I’m writing to thank you for registering and using Microsoft Popfly. I’ve been fortunate enough to see all the innovative mashups, Web pages, and games created by the Popfly community since we launched Popfly two years ago. It has truly been a pleasure to watch the spirit of creativity flow through a growing Popfly community over the life of the product.
It’s with a heavy heart that I share some news with you today: on August 24, 2009, the Popfly service will be discontinued and all sites, references, and resources will be taken down.
After August 24th, your access to your Popfly account, including any games and mashups that you’ve created, will be discontinued. However, Microsoft is still very much dedicated to helping you express your creativity and pursuing a path to software development. If you’re interested in refining your skills in Web applications, please visit Microsoft Web Platform Installer. For those interested in programming on the Xbox, then please visitMicrosoft XNA or Microsoft Kodu. And for those who are interested in Windows programming, please visitMicrosoft Express.
Thanks again for your support and please don’t hesitate to contact us at popfly@microsoft.com if you have any questions.
Regards,
John Montgomery
for the Popfly Team
