Google and Microsoft Search Wars

Well, it’s one thing to be absent from the fray because of other duties and miss some news. It’s another thing to miss a full out donnybrook between Microsoft and Google. Google is accusing Microsoft of using Bing to steal Google’s search results and Microsoft is fighting back. Both are using blog posts and Twitter to lob shots at each other. (See the links below.)

Apparently Google set up a sting operation and using the results from that says Microsoft is indeed using Google generated results to return answers to queries on Bing. The real truth of the matter? Based on what I’m reading there’s no easy answer for that as this has turned into a PR war and that always obscures the truth. The irony of this is that as far as consumers are concerned I’m sure most could care less where a search result comes from as long as they get something relevant. But as we all know this is about advertising on those results and not how relevant the search result is.

Here are some interesting links on the matter.

• Microsoft’s Bing Uses Google Search Results-and denies it.
• Thoughts on Search Quality
• Microsoft:”We don not copy Google results.”
• Wow, Microsoft and Google are punching each other in the face right in front of us!
• Why is Google so hysterically hypocritical about Bing using its public data