In a somewhat odd move today, Microsoft’s MSN launched a new celebrity site called Wonderwall.  One point of note is that the new site, launched in a very crowded space in which People.com has a vastly superior position, is the brainchild of Lloyd Braun.  We haven’t heard a whole lot from Braun, a lifetime TV exec, since he exited his job running “media” at Yahoo in 2006.

And, sidebar:  I put the word media in parentheses not to be snarky, but because no one ever really knew what that was.  Yahoo needed help and Braun, a very smart and talented guy, was available.  We can’t really know what happened, but Braun was either too big for Yahoo, or Yahoo was too irritating for Braun.  Either way, the result was the same and but a tiny, ephemeral embarrassment for him, if that. And on second thought, the episode probably raised Braun’s profile within Microsoft, so there you go.

Anyway, Wonderwall wuh?  I mean it’s seriously cool-looking, with it’s horizontally scrolling wall, huge, inviting pictures and a significantly visual feel: a piece of goodness one could happily expect from a Hollywood guy.

But Microsoft?  The place has not exactly been ground zero for online consumer content in the last, say, 10 years.  But the advantage of being, well, Microsoft is that they can continue to invest.  And they don’t bash us over the head with too much MSN branding on the site, which is nice.  If the site is a big success, there will be plenty of time to reassert the Microsoft/MSN nomenclature.

The revenue model revolves around advertising and, again, there’s crazy competition in this space, so we’ll see.  Next point of interest will be how well they promote and draw traffic to the site.  I hope to see them work the Hollywood access angle that Braun could potentially provide:  a few breaking news pieces at, say, www.twitter.com/wonderwall (which they may have to buy from someone who appears to own that username…) could get them big attention very quickly.

Microsoft MSN Wonderwall BraunBerman Lloyd_Braun