>"Since there's very little competition in search they don't have to worry much about people going elsewhere."
Google search has become increasingly biased over the years, to the point where identical searches by two different people can yield significantly different results depending on each person's geographic location, previous search history, and previous web activity. Google may not be evil, but they often appear to be creepy.
That's why over the long haul, the billions spent on Bing probably make sense for Microsoft. They can run it and scale it without total dependence on ad revenue and the inevitable pressure to skew search results to create impressions for their ad network because it is not their primary revenue source.
Unlike Google search, Bing is not primarily a business model, it is another technology in Microsoft's portfolio. Ad sales are secondary to the added value of search when incorporated into other Microsoft products.
Google search has become increasingly biased over the years, to the point where identical searches by two different people can yield significantly different results depending on each person's geographic location, previous search history, and previous web activity. Google may not be evil, but they often appear to be creepy.
That's why over the long haul, the billions spent on Bing probably make sense for Microsoft. They can run it and scale it without total dependence on ad revenue and the inevitable pressure to skew search results to create impressions for their ad network because it is not their primary revenue source.
Unlike Google search, Bing is not primarily a business model, it is another technology in Microsoft's portfolio. Ad sales are secondary to the added value of search when incorporated into other Microsoft products.