That's One Way To Grab Search Traffic
from the we've-got-porn! dept
When Microsoft launched its new Bing search engine recently, we didn’t really know what to say about it. Some of us felt like Microsoft was trying to win the last battle against Google, rather than looking ahead to the next one; others pointed to pieces saying that Bing seemed more about knocking off Yahoo than Google, which it looks to have already done; others still pointed to all the next great search engines that have emerged over the years, and failed to unseat Google (remember Cuil?). But none of us mentioned Microsoft’s apparent efforts to grab lots of search traffic by making Bing better at delivering porn results. There’s been a minor flap over the way Bing displays videos in search results: users can access videos directly from the Bing site, and play a thumbnail version of them by putting their mouse over a preview image. This means that companies, schools or anybody else who wants to block the porn with web filters would have to block Bing completely (Microsoft has given a workaround, but it’s pretty cumbersome). The uproar comes despite the fact that it’s not all that different to the results delivered by other engines when searching for porn, although Bing seems to be a bit more, uh, comprehensive. While this sounds like a juicy mistake, the more cynical out there might see it as an intentional effort by Microsoft to grab search-engine market share by making Bing great for porn surfers. After all, it only delivers the videos — and other sexual content — to users from certain countries, so it seemingly is possible for Microsoft to keep at least some of it out. But with all the attention Bing’s grabbed because of the uproar, and not to mention the traffic from porn surfers, it’s hard to imagine they’re too bothered.
Comments on “That's One Way To Grab Search Traffic”
“Microsoft was trying to win the last battle against Google, rather than looking ahead to the next one“
That’s Microsoft’s MO. It finds a successful product or service, it than moves into that market and dominates it or destroys it. Then it allows the market stagnates because Microsoft lacks the ability to innovate without someone else showing it how.
Re: Re:
hmmm….sounds a LOT like Apple’s MO; especially so considering they consciously prey upon American’s gullibility and total ignorance; using simple but 100% misleading marketing tactics that abusively manipulate the masses into belief that ALL “i-Products” MUST be purchased @ all costs.
i-PUKE
Apple. It sucks.
Re: Re: Re:
“sounds a LOT like Apple’s MO“
Yeah, but Apple makes the stuff they steal shiny and pretty. That’s really their MO. If they made an actual turd of shit shiny and pretty enough, and called it iTurd, millions would buy it.
Re: Re: Re:
HA HA HA HA HA HA remember when Apple was ’embattled” none of you liked it then and now that it “dominates” none of you like it now. I wonder if it’s just that you don’t like things that are cooler than you…
Re: Re: Re:
Penis envy much?
What would be cynical about that? I would call it trying to offer a better product.
The bigger problem I have with Bing is their marketing strategy. They’re spending TONS on google adwords ads. Which is equivalent to saying “hey Google, here’s a few million – we’re gonna beat you now”
It may steal some temporary visitors away from Google, but at the end of the day big G has the money.
All About Learning
Good stuff! We all need to learn all we can to be successful!
Re: All About Learning
“Good stuff! We all need to learn all we can to be successful!”
That’s true, Sandra! When it comes to sexual intercourse, we DO need to learn all we can, which is why I choose Bing as my search engine, so that I can learn all I can from porn to be successful at double fish hooking a girl while a slam myself into her anus at odd angles, then go ass to mouth.
Thank you Bing, for teaching a young man what a girl REALLY wants…
Re: Re: All About Learning
L.O.L.
I personally think it’s hilarious AND genius! Good for them! The internet is for PORN! Make the best porn searching website and you sir have control of the internet!
And here...
I was struggling to find a reason to use this stupidly named service…
users can access videos directly from the Bing site, and play a thumbnail version of them by putting their mouse over a preview image.
So when should we expect copyright lawsuits?
Re: Re:
Exactly. You thinking what I’m thinking Overcast? Better get in on this while the gettin is good.
Give me a break
Give me a break. If “teens” are desperate enough to have to get their online porn in 1″ thumbnails that show random clips of a video, then there are far greater issues at work than getting it via a MS search site.
Any “teen” that isn’t smart enough to get around any filtering/limitations their parents put on them, isn’t going to have their mind warped by tiny video thumbnails that merely titillate at best.
I’ve come to expect more from you guys than this…
the name
I was wondering how they came up with their name. Now I understand. They were watching all that porn and “bing”, it just came up.
Re: the name
bada-Bing … bada-Boom
A Different Take
Whether your search results include porn or not begs what is a fundamental shortcoming with the search engines. To a degree they are not really designed to actually give you what you want but to give you something that others think that you want.
I don’t want to receive porn, but neither do I want to receive irrelevant sales pitches that interferes with “real” research, such as product reviews. When I am looking up product specifications, I don’t want the sales pitch. For example, I was looking for a watch battery where the vendor implied that they had the battery, but when you actually went there, they neither had the battery specs nor did not have the battery. In another case, I mistyped at URL and got a fake web page full of adds, instead of the “Sorry but you are an idiot for mistyping …”.
While advertising pays for our ability to surf the net, the search engines need to give us what we are asking for, not what is being crammed down our throats.
Re: A Different Take
I hate sites that do that what I have done is report it to http://www.google.com/contact/spamreport.html then click on the [X] next to the search result if I’m signed into google.
A Different Take
Whether your search results include porn or not begs what is a fundamental shortcoming with the search engines. To a degree they are not really designed to actually give you what you want but to give you something that others think that you want.
I don’t want to receive porn, but neither do I want to receive irrelevant sales pitches that interferes with “real” research, such as product reviews. When I am looking up product specifications, I don’t want the sales pitch. For example, I was looking for a watch battery where the vendor implied that they had the battery, but when you actually went there, they neither had the battery specs nor did not have the battery. In another case, I mistyped at URL and got a fake web page full of adds, instead of the “Sorry but you are an idiot for mistyping …”.
While advertising pays for our ability to surf the net, the search engines need to give us what we are asking for, not what is being crammed down our throats.
Re: A Different Take
Sorry but you are an idiot for double posting…
Better? 🙂
Re: Re: A Different Take
I guess I proved my point. 🙂
*adds Bing to his toolbar*