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Bing, Microsoft, Opinion
Microsoft has added the Encyclopedia Britannica to Bing, adding context to search results and edging Bing closer than ever to Google.
As announced on the Bing Search Blog, results from Britannica Online will now appear alongside searches on various topics. Britannica Online features 120,000 articles, meaning this should aid in a lot of searches. The Britannica information appears in a small box, with the bare facts and figures and a thumbnail image included. There are also links to Wikipedia, Freebase, and Qwiki.
“A core focus for us here at Bing has been about delivering relevant information in a more organized way to help you find what you need more quickly and get stuff done,” stated Principal Development Lead at Bing Franco Salvetti. “An example of this approach has been seen in our answers feature – a snippet of information designed to give you a quick look at what you’re searching for while also giving you the option to dig deeper into the results.”
The big question hanging over this deal is whether the Encyclopedia Britannica name is enough of a draw to attract new users to Bing. The Encyclopedia Britannica has been with us for over 200 years but the Internet has made it something of a relic from the past. This led to the decision earlier this year to stop producing the print edition altogether.
Adding the Encyclopedia Britannica to Bing aids existing users of Microsoft search engine, but I cannot see it persuading Google loyalists over to the dark side. Particularly with Google’s Knowledge Graph project meaning Google is already offering context to its search results. Still, Bing continues to improve and now at least offers legitimate competition to the market leader.
I’m fairly sure Microsoft knows it will never knock Google from its lofty perch as the number one search engine, but there is no shame in being second. Anyone who actually uses Bing on a regular basis realizes it’s very good. Unfortunately many people won’t even give it a second glance because a. it’s Microsoft and b. they’re too used to Google. Sad but true.
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