Forget Kumo, Welcome Bing

I wrote on Monday about various happenings in the world of search. The biggest bits of news were around Yahoo! and Microsoft's new search offerings, both set for release shortly. In an update, following a very in-depth article on AdAge yesterday, there are several really interesting bits of information to share about Microsoft's Kumo and the massive advertising campaign rumoured to be behind it. For starters, Kumo is no more. Kumo, as it turns out, was just the in-house operations name that Microsoft were using for their new engine during trials. Bing is the name of Google's newest rival.

According to AdAge and other sources, Bing's $100m advertising campaign, through JWT, will target the web, TV, print and radio. However, although some stories circulating the web have suggested that Microsoft plan a full-on attack campaign (similar to the 'I'm a PC' that targeted Apple directly), it has no been reported that their will not be specific mention of any competitor, Google, Yahoo! or otherwise, and the campaign will instead concentrate on getting users to rethink how they search, questioning if the "other" search engines actually deliver what they want.

The main thinking behind the campaign follows a series of research initiatives by Microsoft to determine how and why users search the web, and how they treat the results they are given. Their research concluded that 42% of searches needed additional input following a users first attemp, 25% of clicks are the back button, and only 65% of users are satisfied with the search engine they currently use. Oddly this data may be seen to be villified by Google's recent Search Options, which added several ways for users to refine their searches, following an initial attemp.

Beyond this, an extremely interesting analysis that has come to light is the breakdown of advertising spends by Google and Microsoft last year. According to TNS Media Intelligence, Google spent just over $25 million on all its advertising. Microsoft, on the other hand, spent $361 million.

How crazy is that?

Eminem's Relapse Augmented Reality

Last week I posted about the launch of Eminem's new album and the massive Social Media drive behind its promotion and launch. Some seriously cool stuff.

I was doing some early morning surfing today and I came across this new Augmented Reality addition to the campaign by the guys over at Outside Line. Basically, in a new section of the site, users can partake in an online AR talent competition. What the heck is that I hear you ask. Just pop over, log in, create a 3D “E”, and spray paint with your personal design. Then enter your design into the running for some really sweet prizes.

Last week they gave away a trip to Detroit. Round two is now open and they're promising an equally slick prize to the best design.

Check out this video to see exactly what you need to do...

Google Wonder Wheel

I posted on Thursday about Google's new Options for Search. Google produced a nice video about the new features, and hopefully you all watched it, so I didn't go into a great deal of detail. However, having had a good play around with the new features, I thought that the new Wonder Wheel function deserved a bit of elaboration.

Wonder Wheel is one of the new tools allowing you to refine your search and find alternative keywords. Once you've performed a search, click on the new 'show options' link in the top left hand side of the results window. Towards the bottom of the list is Wonder Wheel. Clicking on the link will reveal a keyword cloud. In the below example I searched for 'Marketing'.

The main reason I thought that Wonder Wheel deserved a bit more attention is because I realised it's a great tool for developing SEO and PPC keyword alternatives, through Google's own suggestions. Obviously you can pop into your AdWords account and use the kyword tool but this is a fast and simple way to generate keyword lists in seconds. Definitely worth keeping in mind, especially when preparing initial proposals.

Changes in the World of Search

Following Google's recent Searchology event, where the search giant unveiled a number of new search features, both Yahoo! and Microsoft have revealed their plans to change the way we search the web.

Following much speculation and chatter on the web, Microsoft confirmed it is ready to launch its newest search engine, code named Kumo, this week. Microsoft is expected to launch Kumo during the Wall Street Journal 'D: All Things Digital Conference'. The name Kumo which literally translates to “cloud” or “spider” was among a host of names which have been mentioned in relations to a possible rebranding of Live Search. Yahoo! on the other hand has announced that they want to restructure its offering to actually change how we search. Sources at both Microsoft and JWT have confirmed that the launch will be driven by a major advertising campaign created by JWT.

Yahoo! described their new approach as "a distinct move away from the '10 blue links', or the standardised text-heavy search results page," instead they [Yahoo!] "envision the web as a series of 'objects' as opposed to 'pages', making for a more engaging user experience." Essentially they think that the results they deliver should be a collection of relevant information i.e. searching for a restaurant would deliver reviews, opening hours, menus, contact information etc.

Although Yahoo! never describes it as such, this is clearly a move towards a Semantic Web. This is great news. Instead of simply delivering a collection links that have been determined by a search algorithm working on text, users would receive information that is determined through its actual meaning. Yahoo! has referred to this as an arrangement of "about-ness".

Yahoo! gave the example that a search for Beyonce would display the singer's home page, but also a list of her albums and links to tracks hosted on its music site Rhapsody.

The overall project is not new however. Officially referred to as the 'Search Monkey project', it is now over a year old and still under rigorous testing. The major downside (imho) is that the system is based on companies sending Yahoo! the data they want included in their search results. This is a system based on control. Where does UGC content fit in? Where do the bad reviews end up? To me this seems very much like a 'big brother' defined index of 'good' information - you get to see what you are allowed to see.

Regardless of how each companies search 'improvements' turnout, it's not surprising that they are each trying to improve, innovate and extend their offerings. Recent ComScore data (April this year) showed that Google has gained half a point to 64.2% of US search market share, while Microsoft (8.2%) and Yahoo! (20.4%) have both fallen.

On the Google front, there is also the up-coming release of their newest offering Google Squared (due end of May). Although many details remain a mystery, Google have described the new service as providing search results in a spreadsheet format rather than a typical links page, emphasising pure information instead of just related content. This sounds very much like a Google knowledge engine, perhaps similar to Wolfram Alpha. As such, this is probably the most exciting search news here.

Havok May Locate New Team in Dublin

Havok, the Emmy Award-winning Irish software company (owned by Intel), responsible for some of today's top games, is currently deciding between San Francisco and Dublin to locate their software development team for the next gen of games consoles.

After ruling out lobbies from agencies in Britain and Singapore, David O’Meara, Havok's managing director looks certain to locate the new team in one of its current centres. Unfortunately David has warned that Ireland's tax rate of 55% makes it an unattractive location for software developers. Havok's headquarters are currently located in Dublin, and the firm has confirmed that it has no intentions of moving out of the capital.

“We need world-class talent so that means we either go to the universities or get it from abroad,” said Mr O’Meara. “This talent is mobile so a high tax rate here makes California more attractive to them. Effectively we will let our staff decide where we locate.”

Havok’s special effects tools are used in production of both games and movies by the world's largest developers. Initially the company developed a physics engine that ensures the laws of the physics are maintained by digital objects, however Havok has confirmed their intention to develop a complete games development engine.

“Developers would not have to use any technology other than Havok’s,” said O’Meara. “The system will be modular so they will be able to use their own or third-party technology with our games engine.”