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Bing Redesign Gets Top Result in Social Search
posted by Michael Garrity @ 10:25 AM
Friday, May 11, 2012
A few weeks back,
Bing made some design changes to its search results pages that were meant to offer a new de-cluttered experience and make it easier for users to quickly find the best
results for their queries.
Microsoft’s search engine added some more changes on Thursday, one that highlights different results types in three vertical columns and, most importantly, finally does social search right (and much better than Google).
Now, when a SERP pops up, everthing from the center to the left side of the page will show the algorithmic text results. To the right of that, context results will appear, including maps, reviews and actionable input fields. Finally, the far right side of the screen displays “social assistance” results; this focuses on social network connections (notably from Facebook) and experts who can help searchers find the information they want.
One of the best social assistance features is an “Ask Friends” option that lets users request help from their Facebook friends in sorting through results. After entering a question, Bing will automatically post it to the users’ Facebook profile along with a link to the user’s current search. If any friends make recommendations, the searcher will be notified in the social assistance sidebar.
Overall, this is a solid addition and further advances the company’s efforts to cut down on a lot of the clutter that can quickly become distracting and cumbersome for users.
Of course, this is also probably a shot at Google’s attempts at social search with its integration of Google+ to create Search Plus Your World, which has been accused of overemphasizing the importance of Google+ content.
In addition to the latest design tweaks, Bing is including more social functionality into its product. Thanks to an instant personalization partnership with Facebook, users will be able to see what their friends have liked in search results, which shows up as a thumbs up icon next to the text results. However, Facebook Likes won’t have an effect on search result rankings.
For more information about the new design, click here, and here for a video highlighting the new social search features.
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Foursquare wants its users to explore.
The location-based company launched an “explore” feature for smartphones last March, and the feature has now migrated to desktops, which allows users to discover new places based on other users’ recommendations and check-ins.
The Explore option can be thought of as Foursquare’s first go-round at social search.
“Most real-world searches are one-size fits all. You search for pizza, and it gives you the same list of pizza places, whether you like deep dish or thin crust, whether you want a slice or a sit-down meal, or whether your friends would love it or hate it,” says the company’s blog. “But not with Foursquare Explore, because you and your friends’ check-ins (along with the 1,500,000,000 more from the foursquare community) help us personalize our recommendations for you. Every time you check in, we get better at finding places you’ll like.”
This social search option is personalized and specific. For example, if someone types in “thin crust” they won’t just get results for pizza places, but instead specific results will appear for restaurants with thin crust pizza. Additionally, users can type in adjectives such as "fun" or "romantic", to find spots to their liking. Users can also specify certain options when typing in a keyword, which filters places that the user hasn’t been to, has been to, their friends have been to, or places that have Foursquare specials.
The service is powered by 1,500,000,000 check-ins, tens of millions of Tips and over a half million lists. The service should prove to be especially useful to local businesses, since all of the searches are tailored to local results – unless specified for a different city.
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