Marketer's Lab

Bummed By Bing

I was excited to see the new Microsoft Bing search platform ("Decision Engine" in MSFT vernacular).  I envisioned an army of geniuses in Redmond toiling away in their secret labs to create something that would turn the search world on its head.  As a company responsible for pioneering so many technologies I didn't think it was too much to expect something groundbreaking from the Microsoft search platform.   

When I arrived at Bing.com I was hopeful, seeing the new Google-esque interface and the nice little rollovers on the home page image.  This is the kind of thing I was hoping to see, something a little different but still simple and focused.  I plugged in my first search and sat ready to be dazzled.  When the results came back I felt my excitement drain immediately.  I did a few more searches, just to be sure the results would look the same, of course they did.  Wow, Google with a Bing header!  To be fair, the results I received on Bing from a variety of searches were solid, usually relevant, contextually appropriate and easy to find.  If Google hadn't already been delivering this same quality of experience I would probably be a lot more impressed. 

Bing just seems like a Google imitation.  I'm sure the technology under the hood is probably very impressive and if I were an engineer I might marvel more about what MIcrosoft has developed.  I fully understand the primary focus of search must be utility.  But this is Microsoft, a company known for some amazing, industry-changing technologies, staffed by some of the best and brightest in the technology world.  How on earth could they make a big deal about a search experience that for the most part looks and behaves like Google?

What would I have done differently? For starters, I would include a more interesting data visualization strategy.  Look at what they're doing at the New York Times Visualization Lab or at how applications like Grokker can organize and display information.  Data visualization is a hot area right now for a reason, Microsoft could have spiced up their results with something more visually engaging. 

How much work would it have taken to use different text or highlight colors on results pages?  Something as simple as that could have at least made it appear there was some effort to not just duplicate Google.  I do like the little rollover feature on Bing at the right of each search result, but it's hardly a marvel of modern technology or likely to skew my search behavior.  So if anyone from Microsoft is reading this, Bing is OK, but I know you can do better.

Twitter-scape, Twitter-sphere, Twitter-verse, Twitter-iffic

My last post, quite a while ago (ahem), covered my entree to the world of Twitter.  I was, and continue to be, appropriately suspect of the hype around Twitter and all the Social Media "stuff" out there promising great and wonderful things for marketers.  Overall, I'm much more of a believer in Twitter now.  I thought it might be helpful to share some of my early thoughts and experiences.   

Practice "monogamiscuity" - No, this is not a Bush-ism for a youth health program, but a word that captures the essence of what has worked well so far for me in the Twitter-sphere.  (Stephen Colbert, you're free to run with this one).  The idea is to follow selectively, but follow many.  By casting a wider, but still discerning net, you access a lot of valuable information without having to wade through a ton of junk. 

Relax and lurk - Content shortages are yet to be an issue in the world of Twitter, so don't feel pressured to contribute for the sake of contributing.  Making quality contributions clearly makes you more attractive to potential followers, so it's important at some level, but I know a lot of marketers stressed out about fueling the Twitter machine.  Active listening through Twitter can be super-valuable.

Contributions = value to followers - Not flying in the face of the previous point, but if building a following is important you do need to provide value to your followers.  Seems obvious enough, a pretty basic Social Media principle, but worth mentioning if you intend to develop a meaningful audience.  There's a bit of snobbery out there on the value of re-tweeting and simply aggregating the content of others, I say if you find resources you like and think would be of value by all means share them. Make your followers happy and they'll spread the word.

Urchins are everywhere - While I'm not currently being followed, that I know of, by any deposed Nigerian royalty, it's clear many of the email SPAM contingent have moved over to Twitter.  It's too bad, but I suppose inevitable that these folks would find their way to Twitter.

Twitter as a marketing amplifier - In addition to being a great stand-alone platform, I see Twitter as an amazing marketing amplifier.  Used as an extension of other core marketing programs, Twitter can extend the reach and engagement of virtually any initiative.  I feel like this integration will evolve to be the sweet spot for Twitter. 

Still lots to learn about Twitter, I'm actively searching for good Twitter marketing resources which I will of course share here.  For now it's safe to say I've moved from skeptic to skeptical fan of Twitter.