OK, I must admit that when I first saw the new name for Microsoft's search engine, I had to laugh a little. Actually, I laughed a lot. It seemed to be one of those trying-too-hard marketing ploys to create a new catchy name. Cynics would say to make up for the lack of a decent product.

 

I don't tow the party line at Microsoft and have complained my fair share about our search strategy. A few years back, I remember Gate's fuming and saying "you guys aren't differentiating yourself" in a strategy review. He was right. Algorithmic search has to a large extent been won by Google. Every day, I am sure our index get's better and we narrow the gap. But we have to move beyond that to compete.

 

Bing tries to do that. Once you move past the pure mechanics of the search, the user experience does become the next differentiating point. Search is not the end game, but a means to an end. So why not make that end easier to reach, whether it's checking for flights, wanting to buy a product or looking for images. I've been using Live search for years now and see a noticeable difference with Bing. Like any other user experience claim, you have to try it to believe it. So I ask anyone reading this to give it a fair shot, check it out: http://www.bing.com.  

 

Of course, a search engine must also provide some decent results to be useful. There is still a noticeable gap in places and the rankings are often different when you compare Bing to Google. Every article I have read tries different search terms, so I am not going belabor that point by doing more of my own search comparisons. I would just recommend trying a side by side comparison at Blackdog: http://www.blackdog.ie/google-bing/search.php. You can make your own call on accuracy.

 

So ignore the name for now and give it a shot. As Shakespeare so wisely said many moons ago, "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" ... and Bing is no difference. If the product works, the name will get some kudos!