Microsoft always do this with search engines. They seem to start from the assumption that any query represents a user problem, for which there exists a Microsoft based solution. Looked at that way, a search engine becomes an exercise in derailing the users interest, and redirecting into more profitable channels.
It never seems to occur to them that people might be genuinely interested in results that reflect what they actually want.
Microsoft always do this with search engines. They seem to start from the assumption that any query represents a user problem, for which there exists a Microsoft based solution. Looked at that way, a search engine becomes an exercise in derailing the users interest, and redirecting into more profitable channels.
Keep in mind that any loss of profit from Bing can go directly against the company's profit as a whole, as well as the entire cost of Bing being applied to Microsoft's advertising budget. For Micro
Keep in mind that any loss of profit from Bing can go directly against the company's profit as a whole, as well as the entire cost of Bing being applied to Microsoft's advertising budget. For Microsoft, it's a win-win scenario. It's just The Next Step in its advertising campaign to maintain its market dominance.
Oh, I'm sure a win-win on one level. On the other hand, if they end up with an engine that no-one uses because they find more satisfying answers to their questions elsewhere... well, it seems a little short-termist to me.
See, as I see it, this is how search engines die: the adulterated their service for short term gain. Alta Vista choked on sponsored results, and on sponsored results that pretended to be geniune. Ask Jeeves was the same. It doesn't take long before people move to (or back to) an engine that
actually tries to stay on topic, rather than setting its own agenda.
Or, more likely, given the present 'economic climate', that the economic viability and survival is more important than giving the consumers EVERYTHING they want. Keep in mind that Google is based on selling advertising
You know, I think this is where people go wrong. The reasoning seems to be as follows:
Google's revenue comes from advertising.
Google do Internet search
Therefore... Internet search is the same thing as advertising
I don't think the logic holds.
I think they forget that Google built a brand and their market dominance on providing good search results - results that closely matched what the
user was looking for. They forget that while it may be adverts that bring the revenue into Google, it was the quality of Google's search results
that first put those adverts in front of eyeballs.
If anyone seriously wants to unseat Google as the search king, they're going to have to offer a service that more nearly does what the users want than Google does at the moment. I'm not at all convinced that it's possible to do that while still distorting the search indices for sort term gain. I guess time will tell.
And? (Score:5, Insightful)
Surprised, why?
Re: (Score:5, Interesting)
Surprised it took them this long, perhaps.
Microsoft always do this with search engines. They seem to start from the assumption that any query represents a user problem, for which there exists a Microsoft based solution. Looked at that way, a search engine becomes an exercise in derailing the users interest, and redirecting into more profitable channels.
It never seems to occur to them that people might be genuinely interested in results that reflect what they actually want.
And then the
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Keep in mind that any loss of profit from Bing can go directly against the company's profit as a whole, as well as the entire cost of Bing being applied to Microsoft's advertising budget. For Micro
Re:And? (Score:3, Informative)
Oh, I'm sure a win-win on one level. On the other hand, if they end up with an engine that no-one uses because they find more satisfying answers to their questions elsewhere ... well, it seems a little short-termist to me.
See, as I see it, this is how search engines die: the adulterated their service for short term gain. Alta Vista choked on sponsored results, and on sponsored results that pretended to be geniune. Ask Jeeves was the same. It doesn't take long before people move to (or back to) an engine that actually tries to stay on topic, rather than setting its own agenda.
You know, I think this is where people go wrong. The reasoning seems to be as follows:
I don't think the logic holds.
I think they forget that Google built a brand and their market dominance on providing good search results - results that closely matched what the user was looking for. They forget that while it may be adverts that bring the revenue into Google, it was the quality of Google's search results that first put those adverts in front of eyeballs.
If anyone seriously wants to unseat Google as the search king, they're going to have to offer a service that more nearly does what the users want than Google does at the moment. I'm not at all convinced that it's possible to do that while still distorting the search indices for sort term gain. I guess time will tell.