How to Find Featured and Trending Stories on Microsoft Unlocked

Updated

To find featured and trending stories on Microsoft Unlocked, start on the homepage and scan its labeled sections: Featured stories, Fan favorites, and Trending on Unlocked. Each section groups stories by editorial priority or popularity, and every story card carries a topic tag such as Thriving Communities, Sustainability, Sports, Creativity & Culture, or Future of Society. You can use those tags to jump to the themes you care about. Note that many cards include video, so your browser needs video support to play them.

The homepage sections, in order

The homepage is organized top to bottom, so you can move from editor-curated picks to popular content without leaving the page.

Section What it shows How to use it
Featured stories Editor-selected stories presented as large cards, often with video Best starting point for a curated overview of current themes
Take it to the ballot A themed collection about civic participation and community voice Useful if you want stories on society and civic life
Fan favorites Stories framed as audience favorites, including sports and community topics Good for seeing what other readers engage with
The first five minutes A section heading on the page (content not detailed in the available page text) Check it directly on the site to see what it currently highlights
Trending on Unlocked Stories currently trending on the site Use this to catch what's popular right now

Browsing by topic tag

Every story card on the homepage shows a topic label under its headline. The tags visible on the page include:

  • Thriving Communities — e.g., a co-teacher using Copilot in special education, ALS data sharing through Neuromine, language inclusion in AI, small-town data centers, and Children International's community work
  • Sustainability — e.g., bioacoustics for whale protection and Microsoft's plastics and climate footprint work
  • Creativity & Culture — e.g., the "Doppelmode" story about 50 twins
  • Future of Society — e.g., LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky on AI and everyday work, books and innovators, and the "Take it to the ballot" collection
  • Sports — e.g., Premier League's intelligence engine, the Premier League Companion powered by Copilot, and Special Olympics figure skating

If a theme matches your interest, use its tag as your filter and read the cards grouped under it rather than scrolling the whole page.

What to expect when you open a story

Story cards frequently embed video, and the page text explicitly notes browser video support ("Your browser does not support the video tag"). If a card shows a play/pause control, the story includes video content. If video doesn't play, the text content of the story is still the primary way to read it — the video is an enhancement, not a requirement for understanding the story.

Practical tips

  • Start with Featured stories if you want a curated view; start with Trending on Unlocked if you want to see what's popular at the moment.
  • Use topic tags as your navigation shortcut — they appear consistently on cards across sections, so the same tag connects stories in Featured, Fan favorites, and Trending.
  • Expect a mix of formats — some stories are primarily video-led, others text-led; the card layout signals which is which.
  • Check section headings directly on the site for the most current lineup, since featured and trending content rotates.