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Who would've thought Microsoft would add some emotion to the cold, hard algorithmic logic of search engine queries? The company isn't exactly know for wearing its heart on its sleeve. But effective immediately, Bing users can harness the power of Facebook to generate personalized search results.
Basically, Bing can now check out everything your Facebook friends "Like," then use the information to tweak your search results. Before, complex algorithms behind the scenes drove what you saw when you searched for a term. If you searched for "kick-ass comedies," you were at the mercy of Bing's bots to determine which comedies indeed kicked ass. How else can you explain the success of "Sex & the City 2"?
Now, when you search for "kick-ass comedies," Bing takes your friends' Likes into accounts. The more of your friends that Like something, the more likely it is to show up in your results. So, if all of your Facebook friends Liked Russell Brand in "Arthur," it'll show up tops in your Bing results, even though the critics hated it. You'll be able to see just how many of your friends Liked an item next to each search result.
Of course, all of this can backfire if all of your Facebook friends are idiots (or "Sex & the City 2" lovers). So, it might be time to give your Mom the old Facebook friend boot if you don't to be flooded with Oprah results.
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Ultrasound Tech...
August 27, 2011 at 9:23pm
Because of the competition of these giants company and search engines, it benefited many people, leading to a more convenient user experience. Bing's new feature on facebook is really cool.
Neufeldt2002
May 18, 2011 at 3:44pm
One more reason not to use bing. I can also see this being very problematic. All the sleazy websites gamed google's page rank, now they will use the info they bought from facebook and game bing.
Holly Golightly
May 18, 2011 at 10:57pm
As much as I love Bing, I am getting sick and tired of seeing FaceBook everywhere. People, there is more to this world than FaceBook!!! Thankfully, I have recently discovered an extention for Chrome that actually blocks FaceBook extentions. So luckily, websites like MaximumPC, LiveMocha, and now Bing are a heavenly delight to visit again. I do not know where I would be without the blocker. Maybe you might want to try to install this without every seeing another annoying FaceBook feature ever again!
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cohbmkonphbnkadgpcpofdpjiopbbhdl
Now, there is a more hardcore sollution. But I would not recommend it if you share the computer with family. It is called FaceBook-Destroyer. It completely blanks out Facebook itself. I recommend FaceBook-Blocker. However, it does not block the button "publish to FaceBook" or "connect with..." so it is not completely perfect. But it will block the social plug in that may slowdown some browsers.
MaximumPC. I am a loyal reader. I always visit your website everyday. I am tired of seeing FaceBook alienate most of your readers. It seems more people rather do without it. When I visit MaximumPC, all I want to do is read about technology, not connect, or socialize. Please make it like the good times and completely do away with it. Thank you MaximumPC.
