Posts Tagged ‘Microsoft’
Microsoft Kumo in Testing
Microsoft is currently testing “Kumo“, the internal project name used by Microsoft employees for it’s new search function which is said to not only provide an improved search feature, but also help users “accomplish tasks”.
Microsoft report that around 40% of all search queries go unanswered, and Satya Nadella, VP of Microsoft’s Online Service group claims that 46% of search queries last longer than 20 minutes, suggesting that the user has difficulty finding what it is they’re looking for, and 50% of queries are users returning to previous tasks.
One has to wonder if this is a flaw common amongst all search engines, or if perhaps Microsoft’s existing search engine isn’t delivering qualitative data, or grading it and ranking it in the SERPs accordingly.
In comparison to Google, it is said by most Search Engine Marketers, that you need to be at the top spot in the Search Engine Results Pages, or at least on the first pages. Google seems to present instant gratification, and their strategy is to keep users on the page for as little time as possible and get on with doing or viewing what it is they were searching for.
Perhaps a change in Microsoft’s algorithms delivered by Kumo may present a new way for searching and finding information on the web, and we can only watch and wait to see if they’re able to acheive that goal and re-gain some market share against the leading search giant, Google.
Yahoo! in Microsoft’s sites again
Microsoft still seems determined to swallow up Yahoo!, amid talks that the world’s largest software maker is waiting to strike up a deal when Yahoo! appoints a new CEO.
This news comes shortly after Microsoft snapped up a senior member of Yahoo! (Dr Qi Lu) to head up the Online Services Group.
The deal would certainly be in the interest of Yahoo! Inc shareholders, who would be devastated over the substantial write-down of their shares after they dropped 56% from a high of $USD 30.00 in February 2008, when Microsoft first made the proposition to buyout Yahoo! in effort to have a combined marketshare of approximately 30% of the search business to pose a formidable force against the dominant Google Inc.
Microsoft needs to take some drastic measures to improve it’s search business and lift it’s market share from approximately 8.5%, or risks falling by the wayside as a minor search engine with a small enthusiast following, the likes of Lycos and Altavista.
There are still rumours circulating to suggest that Microsoft is soon going to re-badge it’s Live service to the new name of “Kumo” as reported by SearchNews early last month, and a spokesperson from Microsoft revealed that Live Search “hasn’t made it (live.com) stand for something that consumers have connected to”.
This Search Engine News Article brought to you by SearchKing.
Microsoft trying to buy Yahoo! - again?
Talks re-emerged yesterday about a potential buy-out of Yahoo!’s Search business by Microsoft.
The London Sunday times reported that Microsoft was once again in talks to buy out the division of Yahoo! for $ US20 Billion, a much lower bid than previous bids of $47.5 Billion, which were withdrawn after Jerry Yang (then-CEO of Yahoo Inc) rejected the offer.
Representatives of both Microsoft and Yahoo! declined to comment, however a recent blog quoting high-ranking Yahoo executives suggest that the bid is just a rumour, and there are no discussions.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed there was no current discussions on the buy-out, but was still open to talks about buying the business out, and a large investor of Yahoo!, Carl Ichan who owns over 5% share of the company is pushing for the merger since Jerry Yang was removed from the Yahoo! executive team.
These are interesting times for Yahoo! and Microsoft, and there still remains a very real possibility that the two companies could merge in effort to build strength against the world’s leading search engine, Google.
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