Microsoft is making yet another attempt to deeply integrate Facebook into its Bing search experience as a way to gain some ground on archrival Google.
Today, the software giant introduced an update to Bing, adding a new column to search results that features Facebook friends who might have some insight into the query. The sidebar, set off from the white Bing page in gray, lists friends who, for example, might be able to help with a search about diving spots in Costa Rica because they shared photos from a trip to that country on Facebook.
"This notion of a query and Web results can become a conversation with your friends," said Adam Sohn, general manager of Bing.
Web surfers can request access the new feature, before it rolls out broadly, at www.bing.com/new. Microsoft will dole that out in the coming weeks. The main Bing site will roll out the deeper Facebook integration to all users this summer.
Bringing social networking to search has become something of a holy grail for the Web. One problem with traditional search is that users often have a hard time figure out which sources are most trusted. Having friends guide them removes that uncertainty.
"Bing is leading us down a really exciting path," Ethan Beard , director of platform partnership at Facebook, said during a press conference today. "Bing has been really thoughtful, keeping integrity of the core search page and giving you alternatives to reach out to people who matter to you."
Of course, Microsoft isn't alone in trying to marry social with search. Google launched its Google+ social network to address the same issue. But Google+'s reported 170 million users pales in comparison to Facebook's 900 million users in size and, seemingly, in activity as well. That's why Microsoft is keen to tap into Facebook's massive user network.
Qi Lu, president of Microsoft's Online Services Division, says we've entered a new era of search.
(Credit: Microsoft)The center column is something Microsoft is calling Snapshot. There, Bing offers information and services related to specific searches, giving users the ability to take actions directly from search results. So if search results include restaurants, for example, the Snapshot column might include reviews as well as the ability to reserve a table at a specific spot.
But the column that Microsoft most believes will win over new users is the one on the right that features Facebook friends. Microsoft engineers have created technology to index data from Facebook and then map it to individual user's search queries. It only works when users are signed into Facebook.
Once logged in, the column on the right finds friends that might know something about a specific query, then lets users ask those friends for guidance. A search for Seattle restaurants, for example, will populate the top section of the column, under the heading "Friends Who Might Know," with Facebook pals who live in Seattle. At the top of that list will be those who have "liked" particular Seattle restaurants on Facebook.
Searchers can connect with those users over Facebook directly from the Bing page. All they need to do is click on the specific buddy's name that shows up in the right column and a box open in which they can type a question directly to that friend.
Microsoft is also hoping that integrating more deeply with Facebook generates more Bing searches. One search might lead to another in Bing as the conversations between users gets going.
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