Upgrade Your Blog to WordPress.com!

Users of Microsoft’s Windows Live Spaces service who try to access their spaces these days will come across a page titled “Upgrade your blog to WordPress.com!”. So what does this mean?

According to the announcement:

“Many Spaces customers have told us they want a richer blogging experience, and we are very happy to say that you can now find a free upgrade for Windows Live Spaces here! To offer Windows Live customers the number one blogging service, we have partnered with the world’s leading blogging service, WordPress.com.

Upgrading is a simple and easy process: we will move your blog posts, photos and comments, and we will make sure all your old links work so that your readers don’t have to do anything.

When you connect your new WordPress.com blog to Windows Live using Messenger Connect, your friends will still be able to see all your new posts in the Messenger social feeds across Windows Live.

Do I have to decide now?
You have until March 2011, but you should upgrade to WordPress.com today!

For now, you can keep adding posts to your Spaces blog and decide when you want to upgrade.
After January 2011, if you haven’t upgraded yet, you won’t be able to add content to your Spaces blog, but you will still be able to see your existing content. You will still have the options to upgrade, download or delete your blog.
March 2011 will be your last chance to get your items. Why not upgrade today?
What am I taking with me?
The text, photos, videos and comments that make up your blog are moved as they appear in your space today. We will even try to get rid of some of the spam posts in the process.

We will automatically redirect your readers to your new WordPress.com blog, including through your old permalinks.
Nothing has changed in your Windows Live Profile, Contacts or SkyDrive photos. You can still share your items with your Windows Live friends and on the services you already know and love.
If you choose to connect your blog to Windows Live using Messenger Connect, we will put a link to your WordPress.com blog on your Profile page.
What am I leaving behind?
Your draft posts, theme, gadgets, guestbook and lists are not moved.”

In short, we can say that Windows Live Spaces is joining forces with WordPress to create the blogging service with the largest number of users in the world. This way, it will be targeting both the Microsoft Windows Live user base and the WordPress user base. We hope that the benefits of this merger will mostly be passed on to us users.

For more information and details on the subject, visit the Spaces Upgrade Center.