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OK, so it was an bad play on words but there is no denying that the Facebook and Bing union is the trump card that Microsoft has on Google when it comes to search results. Bing has announced an even richer search and social experience in search. Bing’s Director of Search, Stefan Weitz, explains more below.
While I know this isn’t original, it’s best that you hear about the changes straight from the engine’s mouth (or press release). Here’s all the fun that Bing and Facebook are bringing your way for search enhancement using social signals.
Improved “Liked” Results, Answers & Sites: Instantly see which stories, content and sites your Facebook friends have “liked,” from news stories, celebrities, movies, bands, brands and more. Bing shows the faces of up to three of your friends that like a search result, offering a visual, virtual seal of approval from your trusted social network.
Popular Sites: Bing shows collective “like” results related to trending topics, articles, and Facebook fan pages, to find the most popular content. When you search for a recipe site, for example, you’ll see specific articles people have liked on that site to help you cut through the clutter and find recommendations from others – both your friends and the broader Facebook community.
Expanded Facebook Profile Search: Now when searching for a specific person, Bing will provide a more in-depth bio snapshot, such as location, education, and employment details to help you find who you’re looking for more quickly.
Flight Deals: Bing will send you great deals on flights directly to your Facebook feed, for cities you’ve liked on Bing Travel.
Friends Who Live Here: Traveling to a new city and looking for recommendations on where to eat or stay? Easily find and consult friends who live or have lived near a destination.
Shared Shopping Lists: You can build a shopping list and share, compare and discuss it with your friends on Facebook.
I give Bing a lot of credit for looking to differentiate themselves from Google even more with this kind of approach. The issue as always for Bing is “WIll people break the Google habit for Bing’s search results?”. In addition, one needs to ask “Will regular people have a clue that this is even an option for them considering the power of the Google habit?”.
Personally, I wish them the best because Google needs to be pushed and challenged so we, the consumer, can win in the long run. I admittedly still have a healthy dose of skepticism as to whether this will be the thing that makes Bing sing.
What about you?
