Microsoft Tag

Facebook and Bing Go Their Separate Ways

Facebook and Microsoft have had a long-standing relationship, which for quite some time has led to Facebook including Bing results in the Facebook search bar. Similarly, searching in Bing would allow Facebook users to find results from their friends. However, it appears that Facebook has been making some changes regarding the way their search function works. In particular, it looks like they have removed Bing from the equation, without fanfare.

One of the reasons that Facebook worked with Bing in the first place was because it has long considered Google to be a rival, especially with Google’s mostly unsuccessful plunge into social network territory with Google Plus. What this means for the future of the partnership between Facebook and Bing is currently unclear, though it is likely that these changes have been made in relation to Facebook’s new search functions, which I talked about last week.

It seems that Facebook wants to refocus their search functions to work within Facebook, rather than extending to the rest of the web. However, the refining of their search functions appears to be used to compete with other search experiences. A Microsoft spokesperson says that they continue to partner with Facebook in other areas apart from the search function. It still is possible that Facebook and Bing will work concurrently in the future, but under what circumstances is currently unknown.

China Not Fond of Microblogging

While many of us can’t imagine living without things “made in China,” the Chinese don’t seem very impressed with some of things coming out of the good ole USA. I’m most specifically talking about microblogging.  Sites like Twitter have swept America by storm this year.  In fact, a report from Sysomos earlier this year said that only 0.49% of Twitter users were from China, while 62.14% of Twitter’s population were Americans.  The British make up the second biggest amount of users on Twitter, but they are far behind America since they only account for 7.97% of Twitterers. 

While it seems no other microblogging site could beat Twitter at this time, Microsoft has launched a new microblogging service in China, hoping to beat Twitter’s success in a different country.  The new service is known as MSN Juku, which Microsoft is calling a “local innovation developed by MSN China.” (more…)

This Week In Social Media: November 25, 2009

This Week In Social Media: Nov. 25, 2009 iePlexus from iePlexus on Vimeo.

From Rupert Murdoch teaming up with Mircosoft, to celeberating TweetsGiving this is what happened this week in the world of social media and on the world wide web.  (more…)

News Corp and Microsoft Team Up against Google

It was just two weeks ago when News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch said to Sky News Australia that he wanted to take News Corp websites off of Google.  This week, Microsoft has teamed up with News Corp to remove the sites from Google.  And at the same time, Murdoch paid Microsoft to include their results on their search engine, Bing.  (more…)

Social Media Coming To A Game Console Near You

It seems like only yesterday, that everyone in the neighborhood had a brand new gaming console called Nintendo.  Playing a 2-D version of Mario was the most high tech game at the time, and a few years later, the release of the Super Nintendo blew America away.  It was the Nintendo 64, where everyone first began to grasp the idea of 3D graphics in games and since then, the PlayStation, Xbox & Wii have become some of our favorite gaming systems.  From being able to only play games, to being able to actually work out daily, video game systems have come a long way.  So what will come next?

Luckily we won’t have to wait long.  Next Tuseday, November 12, 2009, Microsoft plans to release the latest version of the Xbox360.  The new software will be a step up from the current version, heading to the internet integrating the world of social media.  In June, the company announced they’d release the console which would include Facebook, Twitter, last.fm, and Zune video.  (more…)

This Week In Social Media – November 6, 2009

This Week in Social Media – Nov 6, 2009 iePlexus from iePlexus on Vimeo.

This Week in Social Media – Nov 6, 2009 iePlexus from iePlexus on Vimeo.

Here’s a look at some of what happened this week in the world of social media and elsewhere on the Web.

-It should be no shock that MySpace is losing users, but now the company is in jeopardy of losing nearly $100 million.  In 2006, MySpace made a $900 million deal with Google that would allow the search engine to be the exclusive search advertiser on MySpace, which at the time was the most used social networking site.  The site is coming dangerously close to maintaining a minimum traffic level, which could break the deal with Google. In the past three months, MySpace’s page views have dropped 22.75 percent.  (more…)

This Week In Social Media – October 23, 2009

iePlexus “Week in Social Media” October 23, 2009 from iePlexus on Vimeo.

iePlexus “Week in Social Media” October 23, 2009 from iePlexus on Vimeo.

-The Web 2.0 Summit took place this week in San Francisco. Some of the biggest news from the event came out on Wednesday.  Both Microsoft and Google announced they would be teaming up with Twitterto bring real-time search updates to the search engines.  Microsoft’s Qi Lu first announced that Bing.comwould be getting get the real time twitter searchs updates, up on their site, which happened just minutes after the announcement.  Twitter’s blog said that they want to make twitter a search tool to help find people what they need in current time. Surprisingly, just a few hours after Microsoft’s big announcement, Google announced they would also be teaming up with Twitter to bring real-time search.  Neither of the companies would release the financial terms of their deals but are expected to bring more traffic to the search engine sites. There are also rumors the sites are trying to team up with Facebook as well. To watch the announcement’s in their entirety, visit Web 2.0 Summit’s website. (more…)

Microsoft and Yahoo Strike a Search Deal

In the last 48 hours the web has been buzzing with the news of a Microsoft-Yahoo search deal that could potentially change the landscape of search forever. Although not final and more importantly, not approved by the regulatory commission, the deal would essentially make Microsoft’s search technology, Bing, the engine that powers all Yahoo search. There are other stipulations to the deal and a lot of technical specifics, but both companies feel they benefited from the deal and are looking forward to implementing the change as early as the beginning part of 2010. Google, however, might have something to say about the deal, as this essentially removes a search competitor from the market and makes it a two-horse race in the very lucrative game of search.

Here’s the basics of the deal and some links to more information:

The main component of the agreement involves search technology. Both Microsoft and Yahoo currently have their own search technology, or engine, that powers both the organic or natural search results and the paid or sponsored listings. Google of course has these technolgies as well. The deal gives Microsoft exclusive rights to Yahoo’s technology and puts Microsoft’s Bing as the driving engine behind all Yahoo search results. You’ll still be able to search on Yahoo just like before, but all the results will say “Powered by Bing”. Microsoft gets this technology for at least 10 years and is paying Yahoo for it.

Yes, this means Yahoo is giving up on search. Their CEO, Carol Bartz, would like us to think that Yahoo will do better if it can concentrate on its online properties like mail, news, sports, etc. It’s expensive to run search and Yahoo is now going to lease it from Microsoft so they don’t have to. With this deal, they’ll be two main choices in engines. Google, who has about a 70% market share, and Bing, which will power Bing, and all Yahoo search properties, with about a 30% market share. Steve Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft, is considered a genius for pulling off a deal that eliminates a search competitor at a very low cost.
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