Bing Goes Social in Search, Added Search for Facebook, Twitter & More
Microsoft's recent movement to boost Bing's social networking feaures could finally give the company an opportunity to truly take on Google's dominant search engine. The updated Bing search engine, which was unveiled on Thursday, can now include the user comments, likes and activities posted in popular social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Bing's new interface, which is expected to move from a private to a public beta test period soon, offers users a sidebar that focuses on people in the user's social networks and their opinions and search queries, Microsoft said. The social sidebar also is designed to let users ask their friends questions about their query topic, and those friends can respond either through Bing or Facebook, Microsoft added.
Since Microsoft first launched Bing in the summer of 2009, the company faced a daunting task in taking on Google's dominant search engine. And Google has remained dominant. Despite all of Microsoft's efforts, including an upgrade in 2011, Bing simply hasn't been able to take a significant bite out of Google's market share. Now, Microsoft is hoping that its social search capabilities can become the game-changer the company needs in the battle against Google.
-Source (Computer World)