bing “Visual Search” – a new dimension of search engine

Bing is more than a search engine. It is a Entertainer.

“a picture really worth a thousand words”. Search engines are now focused on extracting useful information from web pages and surfacing data in interesting ways.

Textual days are gone, we are now at visual days.Here is an  alternative way of textual search (keyword search)  is visual search by Bing.

Text search can only take you so far. Sometimes, you know exactly what something looks like, but you just can’t remember the name. A new Bing feature called Visual Search will come in very handy in such cases.

It works great when, for example, you’re shopping for gadgets or looking for a famous person whose name you just cannot remember. You can also start by browsing; for example, the Visual Search lets you visualize MLB players, after which you can filter them out by their earnings and various game stats.

If you are so interested check out here and come back ….

Search for [dog breeds] and you'll find a list of breeds, suggestive images, information about the average weight and the country of origin.

"Visual Search allows you to quickly scroll through the galleries or do a one-click refinement using the quick tabs on the left, which are specifically relevant to the type of results you are browsing through," mentions Bing's blog.

Bing's visual galleries are more polished than the results generated by Google Squared, but Bing only shows galleries for a small number of queries like "popular TV shows" or "world leaders" or “Yoga Poses” and the information is obtained from structured data sources.

 

Note ;- Check out the filter options provided.

Visual Search is unlikely to become a user's first stop when looking for information. But when you only know what something looks like, a visual search capability, done properly, can save the day.

It remains to be seen if Microsoft manages to extend the visual search engine and dynamically generate results for any query. For now, you can play with the demo galleries.

Bing Video Search

BING - after launch in Australia

Bing is a new search engine designed to do more than merely help you find information. Bing organizes search results and provides refinement tools that help you overcome information overload, get things done and quickly bring you to the point of using that information to make an informed decision.(Read More …)

Microsoft considers that Bing’s ability to present a wide selection of relevant results will give users better, faster and more accurate searching than Google.

Now an Australian version of Bing has been launched with visitors, MS revealed that Microsoft Australia is holding down bing.com.au while other Microsoft subs have snapped up bing.co.nz , bing.co.uk, bing.ca, bing.sg, bing.hk, bing.de and bing.fr.

 

"As Bing was in development and various features were tested with consumers, we found that people really enjoyed the daily homepage image. It provides something inspirational and interactive every day, which has resonated really positively with our audience," said Alex Parsons, director of MSN Products at ninemsn. 

The site has already won an internet following with some fans collating daily images for others to view.

Australian technology blogger Long Zheng, who has archived all the images that have appeared on Bing since its launch in May, praised Microsoft for providing "an opportunity to explore and learn without searching at all".

"I decided to host an archive of the images to make it easier for people to browse and appreciate the daily backgrounds provided on the Bing website, even if they don't visit the Bing website daily or do not use Bing at all," he said.

His said his archive had received nearly 90,000 hits since its launch a little over a month ago and had roughly 2000 hits a day.In spite of its new-found following, Bing made no significant inroads into the Australian search engine market during June, internet researcher Nielsen Online said.

With 2.4 million Australian visitors, Bing trailed far behind Google's total of 10.1 million, and both Google and Yahoo7 (1.5 million) increased their search engine traffic from the previous month.

However, so far Microsoft’s Bing seems to have garnered way more interest in Australia, India and China than it has in the Unites States (which comes in at number four on this list). Bing is twice as popular in Australia as it is the United States, and more than three times as popular as it is in Canada.

discover bing

Bing Video Search

Bing – a overview

Microsoft's (MSFT) new search engine Bing, and more reviews are in.

Let's go to press:

Los Angeles Times writer David Sarno: "This more elegant and intuitive approach to search will help consumers distill useful information on commerce-friendly topics such as shopping, travel, health and local business, Microsoft said. ... Its redoubled focus on commerce-related search is probably a reflection of the online advertising market, in which sellers pay more to put their ads in front of consumers who are already shopping."

Seattle Times columnist Brier Dudley: "When Bing demonstrates its fancy tricks during specialized shopping searches, it feels more like a collection of Web 2.0 sites than a traditional search engine. Instead of the simple list of results flanked by ads, with a few pictures or videos mixed in, Bing gives clusters of results with buttons, tabs and charts. ... Bing makes you wonder if Microsoft executives regret selling or spinning off some of the Web services it built in the 1990s, such as travel site Expedia and entertainment directory Sidewalk. It basically re-created some of their features to give Bing its bling. Imagine what might have happened if it had rolled them into MSN Search back in 2000."

CNet editor Rafe Needleman: "I planned to write this story with the headline, 'Bing isn't Better,' but the new engine won me over. The new game in search is parsing information and displaying it in the engine itself (see Wolfram Alpha for the extreme example of this). Both Google (GOOG) and Bing, and other search products, have areas where they will collate and format information for you, instead of just linking you to external pages where the data reside. Bing does an extremely good job at this in several popular areas--like product reviews, movie listings, weather, travel, and stock prices. ... Google keeps improving in the area of in-search collation and display as well, but Bing makes Google look complacent, and that's not good for Google. For the moment, Bing's on top in this game."

Forrester Research marketing analyst Shar Van Boskirk: "Search engines have long been used as gateways to Web content.  But as a decision engine, Bing introduces a search engine that actually delivers Web content without sending users away to other destination sites.  A search for "airfare to Denver" shows available fares, pricing trends, a buy or wait recommendation, and a link to purchase.  Since we expect other search engines to follow Bing's lead, this means marketers should expect increased costs for search and display ads."

Writ us about your review …

Cheap Flights, Hotels, Destinations | Bing Travel

Microsoft search engine Bing’s next offshoot - Bing Travel, it has flight and hotel search, airfare price predictions, travel news and community, travel deals, and more.

Bing Travel helps consumers make smart travel decisions with flight and hotel search, airfare price predictions, travel news and community, travel deals, and more.

It  is one of the initiatives that Microsoft is launching to differentiate Bing from traditional search engines which mostly provide information and links instead of tools that help visitors make more informed decision quicker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to comprehensive flight and hotel search, Bing Travel leverages Farecast technology to provide airfare Price Predictors and hotel Rate Indicators.

“Bing Travel has a simple goal: help people make smarter, more informed decisions regarding travel,” said Hugh Crean, general manager of Bing Travel. “Travelers face plenty of challenges — from airport security and luggage restrictions to finding their hotel in an unknown city or trying to speak a foreign language. Researching and booking travel should be simple and easy, and now Bing Travel is here to help.”

According to Redmond, 45 percent of people use a search engine to select a flight or hotel. Out of those, a survey by Bing Travel pointed out that 52 percent of potential travelers search three or more sites before booking their airfare, and 42 percent of travelers spend between one and four weeks weighing their travel options (17 percent even spend more than one month).

Microsoft wants to reduce that time by centralizing comprehensive results based on searches for travel information in one place.

How it Works?

1. Search multiple travel sites for better pricing.
2. Check the price predictor, so that you know when to buy.
3. Compare and refine results (narrow results).
4. Buy directly with suppliers and save.

Some of Bing Travel’s key features include the following:

1. Price Predictor
• Bing Travel uses Farecast technology to analyze more than 175 billion airfare observations and predict whether the price of a flight is going up or down.
2. Rate Indicator
• The Rate Indicator analyzes historical rate data from thousands of hotels to determine whether the current price is a good deal, or not a deal at all. People can view a city map with details for each hotel, color coded by Rate Indicator data.
3. Travel Deals
• Bing Travel features up-to-the-minute flight and hotel deals for nearly 40 cities around the world. For example, people will see that flights to certain destinations may be a record low, or more than $150 less than the average for a particular route. People can be sure that all Travel Deals are based strictly on science, not marketing.
4. Fare Alerts
• Most airfare price drops last less than 48 hours, so people need to be ready to jump when a fare falls. Fare Alerts will notify people if the fares for their trips drop, allowing them to catch lower fares.
Visit Bing Travel at http://bing.com/travel
Discover Bing here

Bing Cash back – Search… sHop… saVe…

Bing cashback is a great way for you to save money when you shop online. Find great deals on millions of products from hundreds of brand name stores that you know and trust. (New to bing? click here!)

This will enable you to use special saving coupons after your purchase using Bing Live Search from participating stores. Interesting ???? continue reading to know more about it

Overview

• You search for deals using Live Search.
• when you find deals with a special coin shaped icon, it means you’ll receive a small amount of money after you’ve bought something.
• When your balance reaches $5, you can claim your cash.

Benefits

You may earn up to Two Thousand Five Hundred U.S. Dollars ($2,500.00) of cashback savings in a calendar year (based on when the participating store reports your purchases

How it works?

1. Search

Search for cashback deals using Bing. Click a cashback listing and find great deals on the product you chose.

Your results list the cashback savings you'll receive off the store price and your bottomline price, too.

2. Shop

Compare and sort products by the bottomline price. Click the best deal to go to the store.

Don't worry if you don't see the cashback symbol or savings  when making a purchase at a store's website. We'll email you after your purchase to confirm your cashback.

Your first time using Bing cashback, we'll ask for your email address so we can tell you how to quickly open your free cashback account.

3. Save

Save each time you shop with Bing cashback. Every time you make an eligible purchase, we'll email you to confirm your Bing  cashback savings.

You can request your cashback about 60 days after your purchase (the waiting period varies by store) and with at least $5 in your cashback account.

Points should be noticed

• You close your browser or open the store's web site in a different web browser or tab;
• You click away from the store after clicking on an eligible advertisement;
• Your browser is not configured to accept cookies;
• The purchase is not completed in the same web browsing session in which you click on the eligible advertisement or listing;
• The order is later cancelled or the goods or services are later returned;
• The store does not report the purchase to us;
• The goods or services are acquired for resale or other business purposes;
• You use a separate discount or coupon with your order;
• You exceed the annual monetary cap on cashback savings;
• You purchase gift cards or gift certificates; or you make a purchase from yourself or from entities that you control or otherwise in collusion with other people.

“Many people may not realize that some of the best deals are online – and it’s not just about the savings, you’re also getting a discount on time,” revealed Bridget Tate, Bing shopping product manager. “Every mouse click can save valuable minutes normally spent wandering through stores. It’s a great way to help get the most out of those precious last days of summer with the kids.”

So hurry to shop using Bing search only for united states citizens )

 To create you cashback account Click Here!

More news …

• Bing Cashback Incentives to Double Starting with August 10 ...

Flickr Tags: Bing cash back,Bing shopping,bing money back,about bing

Bing video search – More than what we expect

Is there anything more visually appealing than Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing? The engine greets you with spectacular landscape images, complemented by a wealth of historical information and interesting facts. These compelling bits of information also lead you to other areas within Bing, such as the video results page.

Bing video home page

Live video previews on mouse over 

Unlike other search engine, Bing not only display search result, but you can also play the video directly from the search engine. All you need to do is hover your mouse to any video and it will start streaming from there. You can also control the video volume from search page.

 

Note the arrow mark mentioned on the image. You will get a small review on your video when you hover the mouse pointer on it.

Play videos inside Bing

Moreover when you will click on any video, it will play the video in the Bing search page, instead of redirecting you to original page.

Bing Video Filters

The bing video search gives you some options to filter down your results by length, screen size, resolution and source. Source is most interesting to me as it gives you the list of sources it’s apparently pulling from:

• MSN
• AOL
• MTV
• Hulu
• ESPN
• YouTube
• MySpace (?!)
• DailyMotion
• MetaCafe

Not a complete who’s who of video platforms and sharing sites but not the smallest cross-section I’ve seen in a video search either.

Video Filter Screen shot

Key Factors

It appears there are many key factors that come into play when optimizing your video site for Bing:

• Video Sources: MSN, AOL,MTV, ESPN, YouTube, MySpace, DailyMotion, MetaCafe
• Date of Video
• Keyword Relevancy: Title, URL and Description
• Length: short (< 5 min), medium (5-20 min), long (> 20 min)
• Screen Size: standard and widescreen
• Resolution: low, medium and high

Here’s a rundown of key features of Bing Video Search over Google Video Search:

• When you mouse over on Bing, the video auto plays with sound. Google allows you to skip through content – but only after you click to play the video in their interface.
• Bing provides larger previews of the actual screenshot than Google – who relies on the text unnecessarily. Video is a visual medium, Bing is letting that take precedence. You can mouse over the title on Bing to get the full title if it’s clipped.
• When you play the video on Bing, it’s almost have the page size… fantastic – especially for new, higher definition content. Other videos are still listed underneath and can still be auto played when you mouse over them.
• Narrowing down your search selections is simple and intuitive on the left sidebar on Bing. Google requires you to click Advanced Video Search to get to the same filtering options.

Comparison Screenshots

Google video search

 

Bing Video search

Google doesn’t make the most elegant or prettiest of pages, but their Video Search Results page is downright unmanageable and ugly. In my opinion, Bing has done a fantastic job laying out the page and making it more usable. Searching for video is difficult – and the algorithms aren’t the greatest… you tend to have to bounce around a lot. Bing’s interface and usability make it much easier to search, browse and find the video you’re looking for.

For more information about bing video Browse here!!!

Discover Bing …

Bing brings order to the chaos of online search, making it easy for you to find what you’re looking for and to get things done. The Product Guide outlines the design goals for Bing and provides interactive, step-by-step instructions for how to use the new features in everyday tasks such as checking the weather forecast,  tracking a package or planning your next vacation.

 Use me to go to Bing ...

 Bing is such a decision engine.

Bing, the new decision engine that helps you overcome search overload and quickly make more informed choices.

Bing provides an easy way to make more informed choices. It organizes popular results by category to help you get the answers you’re looking for without having to guess at the right way to formulate your query. And built right into Bing is a set of intelligent tools to help you accomplish important tasks such as buying a product, planning a trip or finding a local business.

find videos :- http://www.discoverbing.com/behindbing/videos.aspx

Microsoft is doing a lot of things right with Bing, For one, the engine works quite well, including a number of subtle features like video previews (Read more about bing video previews)that Google doesn’t have (yes, some of the improvements were introduced in Live Search, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t cool). Perhaps more important, the company is doing a good job with its marketing efforts, shedding its corporate monolith culture in favor of something that’s decidedly more.

Reference site :- http://www.discoverbing.com/

Read more …

about bing …

Bing is a new search engine designed to do more than merely help you find information. Bing organizes search results and provides refinement tools that help you overcome information overload, get things done and quickly bring you to the point of using that information to make an informed decision.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO said, “Today, search engines do a decent job of helping people navigate the Web and find information, but they don’t do a very good job of enabling people to use the information they find, When we set out to build Bing, we grounded ourselves in a deep understanding of how people really want to use the Web. Bing is an important first step forward in our long-term effort to deliver innovations in search that enable people to find information quickly and use the information they’ve found to accomplish tasks and make smart decisions.”

Key features …

• Bing is a new Decision Engine and consumer brand and helping customers their search faster and more informed decisions.
• Bing is specifically designed to build on the benefits on today’s search engine.
• Intuitivetools to help customers make better decisions.
• Focusing on four key vertical areas such as:
  • Making a purchase decision
  • Planning a trip
  • Researching a health condition
  • Finding local business
• designed to empower people to gain insight and knowledge from the Web, moving more quickly to important decisions

Bing’s Home page looks like…

Flickr Tags: Bing,search engine,microsoft new search engine,bing cash back

Microsoft is doing a lot of things right with Bing, For one, the engine works quite well, including a number of subtle features like video previews that Google doesn’t have (yes, some of the improvements were introduced in Live Search, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t cool). Perhaps more important, the company is doing a good job with its marketing efforts, shedding its corporate monolith culture in favor of something that’s decidedly more.

Try it here!

For Downloads

Click Here for Bing downloads …

for more information :-

http://www.discoverbing.com/