Flash is good for games and fun, good for sprinkling in oooo-ahhh effects, and good for a small, few other things, but it’s absolutely, positively terrible for search engines. If you want people to easily find your site — traffic is good, yes? — it’s best not to use too much Flash. Webmasters for movie websites haven’t learned this yet. Apparently this doesn’t apply to mega-huge companies like Microsoft. Check out their new Windows Live Wire (warning: onload sounds, turn down speakers) site, it’s a Flash-extravaganza. Mistaked momentarily for Snakes on a Windows Live Plane.

Motley Crue in da house
The name of the site reminded me instantly of Motley Crue’s signature old school song: Live Wire. I can almost hear Vince Neil screaming, breaking to Tommy Lee’s cowbell pounding and cymbol barrage. I decided to fire up that song while writing this review. Another sin not to commit is having onload sound, which most Flash sites completely ignore, Windows Live Wire being no exception. Yes, you can turn off sound in the upper right corner and most will make that their first mouse clicking exercise on the page.

As for what actually can be done at Live Wire? It’s much like what a movie site does: promotes features of Live.com sites. Nathan breaks down the specifics like a comment board where you can leave a comment that will likely never be seen on any other non-Live website (another search engine spidering problem) or read recent posts from both non-Live and Live-related blogs in a too small window (er, no thanks).

Generally speaking, I like Microsoft’s momentum and push behind getting more sites Live branded sites in the public consciousness, but I don’t see the sense in this particular one (other than being an obvious commercial). I find the smaller font used by most Live sites very hard on the eyes. Good thing that can be changed in the browser, but bad for older folks who don’t know how to change that. Maybe this is Microsoft’s way of saying us 30-somethings are not a-Live enough to enjoy their new sites.

Neat looking, yes, but useful? Not really.

Windows Live Wire has Hollywood written all over it. Nothing wrong with having a fun promotional site, but I don’t see people that don’t bookmark this one being able to remember this — or more importantly find it at some point later — much past a brief distraction. Unless it’s coming to a theater near us soon (?) Rated SE-U for Search Engine Unfriendly.

Grade: D

• Starting to see Live.com search referrals
• No audio onload share care bears in RSS feeds please
• Windows Live Academic beta search launches
• How to create Live Search Macros
• New Windows Live Search says goodbye to pagination
• Microsoft goes Live with search, gets sexier, drops extraneous Windows