Microsoft: Don't get SCROOGLED! (wtf?)

[FanIn80]

Just accidentally went to a yahoo page, and then found my way here:

http://www.scroogled.com

...which looks like a site from Microsoft, warning people about getting "scroogled" by Google.

Friggin Microsoft, lol.

[TorqueDog]

I just have to laugh at the term 'Scroogled'.

[SebC]

There's a whole TV ad campaign that goes with it.

[FlamesPuck12]

Have you guys heard of
www.bingiton.com

The worst marketing campaign ever.

Edit: Damn they got rid of it. It was a page where you try 5 searches, and they give you both Bing and Google results without teling you which is which. They ask you to pick a side and most people end up liking the Google results more.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by FlamesPuck12

Have you guys heard of
www.bingiton.com

The worst marketing campaign ever.

Edit: Damn they got rid of it. It was a page where you try 5 searches, and they give you both Bing and Google results without teling you which is which. They ask you to pick a side and most people end up liking the Google results more.

I can't find any proof of this. (Maybe because I'm using Google?) Weren't MS claiming about 2:1 preferred Bing?

Edit: found some data... none of it seems particularly scientific though.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by FlamesPuck12

Have you guys heard of
www.bingiton.com

The worst marketing campaign ever.

Edit: Damn they got rid of it. It was a page where you try 5 searches, and they give you both Bing and Google results without teling you which is which. They ask you to pick a side and most people end up liking the Google results more.

Most people picked the Bing search results, actually. Nevertheless, I fail to see how it's the 'worst marketing campaign ever'. It's the interwebs equivalent of a blind taste test.

Not that it matters, unfortunately, as BingItOn.com doesn't work outside of the United States. No good reason why (and I have asked).

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Not that it matters, unfortunately, as BingItOn.com doesn't work outside of the United States. No good reason why (and I have asked).

Because Google is far better at providing localized results outside of the US. For example, if I search "Best Buy" Google shows me a map of the local stores, but Bing doesn't.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

Because Google is far better at providing localized results outside of the US. For example, if I search "Best Buy" Google shows me a map of the local stores, but Bing doesn't.

That's a good point and you're definitely on to something there.

Though I'm not that it's better at it so much as it's been completely disabled on Bing outside of the US. Case in point, you used to be able to fool Bing (at least on Windows Phone 7) into providing (rather competent, IMO) localized results in Canada using 'Local Scout' if you kept your browser language as 'English (United States)'.

Sadly, this little workaround no longer works on Windows Phone 8. If you set your language to 'English (United States)', Local Scout simply says it couldn't find anything. If you set your language to 'English (Canada)', Local Scout disappears from the search page... or if you've pinned it to the Start screen, it says it isn't available in your region and closes.

Windows Phone 7 is still able to take advantage of this workaround. I'll post a picture in a sec.

Samsung Omnia 7 on WP7.8 on the left, Nokia Lumia 920 WP8 on the right. Both on the most current builds of their respective OSes.


Note: Actually, you CAN get the map of 'Best Buy' locations, but you have to click 'Maps' after you perform the initial search - it isn't automatically included in the search results.