MSN Bing

After all the attempts to keep the MSN Live Search a-Live failed, Microsoft came up with this new trick up their sleeve, why call it a potato, let’s call it a spud! So original!! So, MSN Bing is the newly launched search engine-oops! Sorry, our mistake a ‘decision engine’ by MSN. (We are looking up what to wear tonight on it now, are we?)
But before we dismiss anything as a gimmick, we do tend to look it up (so hard to not call it ‘Google up’) to be able to frown knowledgeably. Here are a few things about Bing that we ‘looked up’:

• Cleaner homepage- tick, although even with the pimped up look, the attempt to follow Google’s steps remains undisguised.
• Relevant searches- just as well!
• The ‘Bing’ factor- completely lacking! Couldn’t tell one from another! Although the SERP’s look much more like Google SERPs. Well done Microsoft!
• Paid search- not much different other than the fact that we managed to use up our advertising budget a little faster, conversions still the same!
• WIIFM (what’s in it for me) factor – what, who where??? What’s that again?

So, our take away from the whole exercise is, even if you blow up 100 million dollars (like a fourth of Microsoft’s annual advertising budget) on launching a service that has all the frills but no substance, it's surer way of losing money than flushing it down the toilet.

In all fairness, we do like the name though. Kind of rings a bell, Bing!! But we don’t prefer the strap line, Bing-the decision engine; we would much rather prefer, Bing-its Gaelic for thy turkey is done sir! (Ref: Chandler Bing –F.R.I.E.N.D.S)