Google May Bow Down to Bing in the Near Future
“Google may be bowing down to Bing in the near future.”
At least that is the feeling I got after reading the article, Google’s New Social Search Is Missing Something Super Huge And Important at the San Francisco Chronicle Website.
The article exposes Google’s primary weakness- A lack of social data.
Google receives it’s data from “bots” that “crawl” webpages for data. Google’s system has obviously been very effective up until now but, due the explosion in social media, the way users browse the web is changing fast. Users trust their friends and family more than they trust Google. They would rather get information from someone they trust instead of search pages that display paid advertisements and webpages with high page rankings.
Think about it. Would you rather use a product that appears at the top of a search page or would you rather use a product that 50 of your friends and family recommend?
All the article linking, video sharing and the Facebook “liking” is translated into very valuable user information that, combined with algorithmic computations, can be used to display search results. That is what Bing wants to do with Facebook’s user information.
In late 2010 Microsoft and Facebook entered into a partnership that allowed Bing to use Facebook’s “like” data to help personalize users’ search results. The personalized search results are not noticeably different yet but as long as Bing has access to that data and works to combine it with an effective algorithm, then the longer they will have an advantage in preparing for the future of online searching.
I still use Google a few hundred times a day but if something came along that worked better, I wouldn’t blink an eyelash. I know some people may not want their Facebook information used for online searching and marketing but remember, if its displayed on Facebook, then its fair game.
What do you think the future of online searching will be? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.
About Anson Alexander
Anson Alexander is a graduate from the University of Tampa with a degree in International Business and Information Systems.A previous IT Administrator for a medium size publication company, Anson has recently decided to work full time on his own business by publishing on AnsonAlex.com, publishing technology tutorials on YouTube and offering SEO, IT training and digital marketing services.His main interests include technology, social media, infographics, economics, marketing and web design.Connect with Anson on Google+.
Future online searching: I have noticed when a student asks me where to find articles about his topic, I show him how to use the EBSCO database, but then before using it, the student will look to his friend for confirmation. I have seen students refute known information because their relatives or friends had given them another answer…which was wrong. Teachers will go to their facebook and text in their disappointments about a restaurant we are eating at and to my surprise, they receive an answer before I have finished my first bite of food. So yes I think you are on to something, and I probably have to study social media and education.
nan
nan,
Based on your comment we can see that people trust the opinions of others. However, as you said, those opinions are not always right. If the future of online searching is going to include social media then Bing, Google and other search engines will have to make sure that the results they display are BOTH accurate and based on user opinion. It isn’t going to do us any good if we have a whole bunch of social media based search results that don’t solve our problems!
Great comment!
If I am going to search for something, i will use Google. If i want advice from friends I ask them. And still compare my results with both.
As to using Bing, I won’t. I simply do not trust M$ or it’s affiliates enough.
I do not appreciate the “like” “feature” of Facebook, being sold to them either. “like” something or not, it is not accurate for when I wish to search for something.
On the side of targeted or [aid for placements, I will look at them, but 90% of the time, when i make a search, they are irrelevant to me. Useless.
Maybe I am a minority, I do not like it when any large monopoly simply takes advantage of every little thing they can. Especially when it is done in the manner which they will use.
They do not deserve my information.
I like how I can remove “Bing” from my search engines, within Chrome. And include others, if I feel necessary.
Google loosing out on “like” items? Maybe, but I am sure they can manage, with what Google has. Besides, I find that a lot of the “like” items are not really what I search for. Neither would be any of their related materials. Sure it is nice to find similar music, or TV shows, and such. But.. to make purchases or to view, any music store will do. Just like for TV, any site that sells that is easily found.
wiki’s are great too, in that sense. You can find other episodes, or seasons, and information on those. no “Bing” required. And much more accurate.
Corvus,
It is good to see such a passionate opinion about this matter. I don’t use bing either, it just doesn’t provide the results that Google does right now.
I do, however, consider Google almost a large of a monopoly as Microsoft. I believe I remember seeing that Google is used for about 35% of all online searches WorldWide. Considering that Baidu (the chinese Google) is included in those statistics, they’re pretty staggering.
The Facebook “like” information is the first step Bing as taken into utilizing social data. Do you think that we will continue to see the combination of logical algorithms and social data or do you think search engines will decide that social data is not important in search results?
Thank you for you insight, it has made me think about my on thoughts on the subject.
You also may want to check out a similar article I’ve written on the future of social media and information sharing:
http://ansonalex.com/technology/the-future-of-information-sharing-through-social-media-and-why-everyone-benefits/
Thanks again!
Google has come up with its own counteroffensive called Google Plus. While whether or not Google Plus works remains to be seen, but clearly Google is not going to simply bow down to Bing.
Indeed they have! If you want to find out how to add friends, check out this article:
http://ansonalex.com/technology/how-to-invite-friends-to-google-plus-social-network/
Anson: Cool i am not a minority.
"almost as large.." For their prospective "markets" M$ is huge. Google is pretty big.. with China included. But not huge – on/in it's own.
While it is true Google can be considered a monopoly, there are several other search engines out there that WORK. The biggest difference, I feel, between Google, and M$, M$'s product(s) do not necessarily have to.
Wait.. there is one other thing. Google seems to do things right, and get the ..errors corrected.
M$ still has holes in it's 'flagship'. Breaches. Hell the more I think about what is on fb, the more I don't want to be involved ( 'like' ).
M$ has a habit of unethical – events – to do as it pleases, regardless of any others, or repercussions.
I haven't bought any hardware from Google, as I don't believe they have any. So I can't compare there.
I have bought hardware from M$, and every time there was an issue, 3rd parties were the BEST alternative. M$ simply drops whatever; and ignores user pleas.
I would liken most of the blatant disregard to be very much similar to that of the oil companies and logging companies from 30 years back, but with current prices.. Every one has to use fuel. Every one has to use Windows, so what does it mater what it costs? Big deal.. a sea gull dies.. big deal I lose one user, there are plenty of seagulls there are plenty of users.
Damn.. maybe they should sell crack?!
You're welcome. And to your other article; should I like or not? Irregardless of weather or not I or anyone else actually does?
Powerful word: "Like".
Funny, when I think "Bing", Search Engine it is not. More of another way to gather information on everyone on the net.
humm..
"Like" that idea?
Me? Nope; not at all. There's an ethical issue that presents itself every time I think about M$ having _any_ information: "Not good."
..Just a side .. yet related idea.. note..
Take a look at your little cloud on the right.
how much of that information based on location, and size, does any of that apply to you, today?
Google has a good place.
Enter term here.
SEARCHING…
..Like clouds of information being sorted, and my room, when I was small.. Man I hated cleaning.. Still do… But my place was like a Cloud of stuff.. I knew exactly where every relevant piece of toy was.. for ME!
I borrowed from a friend of mine.. Forget what it was.. he went in my room, and I remember the look on his face, and the reply.. "It's lost.. isn't it?"
"Huh? What's lost?" i rreplied back.
"My (thing I forget what it was)!" he retorted back.
"Oh.." ..I dig into a pile of things without looking – narry a flinch – more a directly targeted ..grab.
"..you mean this?"
"Uhnnngh..", in disbelief, "uh, yeah. how did you.. uhnn..umm..HOW?!"
"to every place a thing, and every thing, it's place. Oh wait.. or was this one yours? i forgotten if yours was blue with red stripes, or red with blue stripes.."
"Blue.. ahh.. but how.."
"I'll never tell.. the filing system has a life of it's own."
Oh.. yes.. here we are. Today. Sorry, I misplaced my mind- momentarily. (I assure myself.) Tag Cloud. Google Search. Micro*COUGH*'s Windows. facebook "like". And some combination within.
The data (farming) potential with "like" is .. more huge then huge. If it were a company. A monopoly would be likened to a corner store, in comparison to the potential of a simple "like".
No.. bigger then big, I MEAN BIG! ..GINORMOUS EVEN!
A reference for D&D "like" people:
If "like" was a creature. Gargantuan would describe it's size, with 1HD @ 1st lvl. Any, but generally TN.
Mean while, to describe the monopoly that is M$ – Diminutive. (NOTE: Should be NPC only. GM descretion – Auto-failure to game balance. Start as a 20+lvl thing with 30HD/lvl factorial. Either CN or CE. No Lawful or Good permitted. Special Ability: Can drain level(s) from any other thing at will. Will save permitted. DC = Current HD. M$ may, if it chooses expend any number of lawyers to negate opponent's Will save., any number of times to succeed.
Well.. ..I think the Players understand…