Home > Search Engine Optimization, Technology News, web 2.0 > What the Bing is Microsoft thinking?

What the Bing is Microsoft thinking?

by Bilal Jaffery on May 31, 2009 · Comments

in Search Engine Optimization,Technology News,web 2.0

Seth Godin blogged about Microsoft’s latest search engine, Bing, earlier and it really intrigued me. Not only from just Microsoft’s search engine perspective but also from a web product development, management and marketing perspective as well.

Microsoft, home of the Zune, has just announced that they’re going to launch Bing , a rebranding and reformatting of their search engine. So far, they’ve earmarked $100 million just for the marketing.

Bing, of course, stands for But It’s Not Google. The problem, as far as I can tell, is that it is trying to be the next Google. And the challenge for Microsoft is that there already is a next Google. It’s called Google.

Google is not seen as broken by many people, and a hundred million dollars trying to persuade us that it is, is money poorly spent. In times of change, the rule is this:

Don’t try to be the ‘next’. Instead, try to be the other, the changer, the new.

If Microsoft adds a few features and they prove popular, how long precisely will it take Google to mirror or even leapfrog those features?

With $100 million, you could build (or even buy) something remarkable. Something that spread online without benefit of a lot of yelling and shouting. Something that changes the game in a fundamental way. The internet works best when you build a network, not when you buy a brand. In fact, I can’t think of one successful online brand that was built with cash.

[For a preview of the real next Google, check out this presentation of Google Wave. As a presentation geek, I need to point out that the intro (the first 2 minutes) is a fantastic example of how someone (you?) can stand up in front of 4,000 people with no slides and make a significant introduction with no hesitation and no apologies.]

Bookmark and Share

Tagged as: bing, fail, Google, Microsoft, search engine, Web

  • Please give me more information. I love it, Thanks again.
  • While I am far from being a Microsoft fan, it is always good to remember that competition is a good thing. If over time Bing can chip away even small chunk of Google's marketshare then I would consider the venture a success.

    Time and time again, companies with monopolies prove they can sit on their laurels and (while it lasts) extort money from their customers. Today it is Google with their web ads.

    From their promo video I like how they are trying to categorize search results. One cannot judge the product from its initial release. In 6-9 months, let's see how the product has evolved.
  • Bilal, my point is that Hotwire, Hotels.com, Priceline and E-Trade are all huge online brands that were built through huge advertising blitzes, probably costing in the range of $100 million. And those brands are very successful. So I don't know why Seth can't think of them.

    Microsoft probably won't make Bing successful by spending $100 million, but that's not because it isn't possible to do it. It's because Microsoft generally sucks at creating effective ad messages. The only software/SaaS company I can think of that's worse than Microsoft at that is IBM.
  • Well said. No disagreement with the Microsoft and Priceline statement.

    Keep in touch, I've got some few ideas in the works at the moment that might resonate with you.
  • Thanks for your kind comments. Oliver.

    Nathan, you bring out the best in all of us. Love the comments. Honestly. Most do hit the mark though and I can't deny that. I need more of that here.

    In regards to my comment about hotwire, I use hotwire because its fulfilling my needs at the moment. Although, $100 million in marketing will not make me a long term user. In short term, it is fulfilling my need but when the next 'lower priced' competitive offering comes along, I will move over right away.

    For $100 million, I want more than that, but maybe that's just my wishful thinking. We can do much with that in this economic environment. Microsoft can spend $100 million but if my results are not accurate, its not going to make me change. Otherwise, we always had Yahoo! right?
  • You make some very solid points, Bilal. I hope that the folks at Microsoft are listening.

    Though introducing MS as "the home of the Zune" is kind of counter to your argument, isn't it? ;D (The ZUNE being (IMHO) a better product than the iPod (or at least as good), but with zero traction in the market due to a) late entry into the game, and b) poor marketing and advertising on Microsoft's part.

    Just pulling your chain a little bit. ;) Aside from their X-Box business, Microsoft doesn't do marketing and advertising very well. They're obviously partnering with the wrong agencies. And I have to say that although their search product needed a revamping, this is most definitely the road they should have gotten on.
  • @Bilal Huh? So 1) your whole post is actually a repost of Seth's remarks. Okay. 2) I offered 3 off-the-cuff examples of online brands built with cash, and you respond with a fourth. So you're agreeing with me? 3) Wolfram|Alpha is not a mainstream search engine YET -- but it's damn sure more exciting and innovative than anything in the search arena coming from MSFT (or IBM).

    By the way, you probably ought not to be pointing people to the Google Wave presentation. All of Lotus had better PRAY that Google has massive implementation problem, 'cause they just drank your milkshake.
  • @bruce, bing just went live..Give it a try, I am not impressed so far with the accuracy.
  • @ Nathan Wolfram Alpha is far from a mainstream search engine. Most of the functionality of Wolfram Alpha is based around its scientific/encyclopedic usage.

    Regarding the statement by Seth, I think its referring to spending millions to create a branding experience that can be duplicated/imitated or replaced easily. In Canada, we are fans of hotwire as opposed to priceline, so it means nothing me already. Next..

    ;)
  • There is a next Google already. It's called Wolfram|Alpha.

    "In fact, I can’t think of one successful online brand that was built with cash."

    That's an unimaginative statement. How about Priceline? Hotels.com? E-Trade? The iPhone App store?
  • While the wave is interesting, the first 2 min of the presentation is nothing special. Any presenter that is good, has little need for slides. I've seen better quite often.

    For Bing, too little, too late. Your right we don't need or want the Next, we want something that does what we want with little effort. MS is like a fat kid at a buffet, they want everything with little regard for quality.
blog comments powered by Disqus

Previous post:

Next post:


This blog does not represent IBM opinion.