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Disclaimer - I used to work on Bing like... 8 years ago. There's probably some debate around whether this is nefarious or genius, but I'd lead towards the late
by jjcm 2y ago
Disclaimer - I used to work on Bing like... 8 years ago.
There's probably some debate around whether this is nefarious or genius, but I'd lead towards the later. "google" has always been one of the number one search terms, and the amount of people who would open chrome, search for google in the address bar, then open google in the google search results, then do their search, was wild. There's a very large percentage of less technical people who aren't looking for Google, they're looking for search, and in their mind the two are the same.
They likely don't care what search engine they're using, so I suspect this actually captures a very large amount of search volume, while still solving the intent of the user.
- szundi 2y agoWith all due respect, still feels bs to rationalizing the intentional misleding of these poor people. It is not a coincidence that Google and search is the same in their heads.
- ocdtrekkie 2y agoIs it bad to mislead these poor people when the outcome is better? Google is not good at returning results and is exceptionally good at directing nontechnical users to malicious ads. Bing is saving people. If a user is not equipped to determine the difference between Google and Bing, you should not redirect them to a website which is 80% ads.
- jrochkind1 2y agoIf they didn't care what search engine they were using, would it be necessary to make it look so much like the google homepage?
- geodel 2y agoBecause they think it is genius.
- tokioyoyo 2y agoOlder people don’t understand the idea of “search engine”, they understand “google”. They don’t realize you can “google” through Bing as well. I hate it, but it is what it is.
- jrochkind1 2y agoI mean, i would describe what you are describing as them actually caring a lot what search engine they are using, but possibly out of ignorance.
- quink 2y ago> They likely don't care what search engine they're using That's nothing, for our next iteration our navigation system will take you to the nearest Woolworths because they've got a commercial partnership with us even though the customer quite clearly said 'Coles'. It's likely they don't care.
- netsharc 2y agoHuh, imagine if current operating system trends are applied to car computers. "To store your seat settings across reboots, get our Comfort subscription. [Subscribe] [Not Now]". In fact, how shitty have OSes become that they are nagware now?
- Dylan16807 2y agoIf you want to make it more accurate, the car started in the Woolworths parking lot or something. But that doesn't capture many of the other aspects. Hmm. My best attempt at this car analogy is more like... you walk over to some idling Lyft drivers and say you need an Uber to Coles. And then one of them drives you to Coles instead of driving you to the nearest Uber idling spot.
- vasco 2y agoIt's genius to copy your competitor because the user might not notice and you can also solve their problem? I don't think it's genius.
- gazchop 2y agoI haven’t heard anyone utter anything but disgust at accidentally using bing. They know. The fact windows is full of dark patterns to try and get you to use it is pathetic disrespectful hubris not genius.
- ClassyJacket 2y agoThat makes no sense. If they don't care what search engine they're using, why do it?
- from-nibly 2y agoMisleading people is always nefarious full stop. It's not your job to decide whether or not someone else cares, it's theirs.
- shiveenp 2y agoThis comment tells me everything I need to know about the kind of people that work at Microsoft.
- RajT88 2y agoIt can be both. And it is. Machiavellian, even. https://ianchadwick.com/machiavelli/chapters-15-21/chapter-18-the-subtle-art-of-lying/ https://ianchadwick.com/machiavelli/chapters-15-21/chapter-1...
- suddenexample 2y agoThe ones debating whether this is nefarious or not are the ones ruining the tech industry. This is absolutely nefarious. Whether or not it's a clever path to promotion due to corporate incentives is irrelevant. I'm curious what part of Microsoft's culture enables these satirically slimy product decisions. In theory, other megacorps should be no better, but somehow they seem to maintain a bar that Microsoft always manages to stoop below
- CobrastanJorji 2y agoDisclamer - I owned a restaurant that gave Pepsi products to customers who explicitly ask for a Coke. There's probably some debate about whether this is nefarious or genius, but I lean towards the later. "Coke" has always been the number one request from our patrons, and the amount of people who just wanted any soda but said "coke" was wild. there's a very large percentage of poorly palated patrons who aren't looking for a Coca-Cola, they're looking for a soda, and in their mind the two are the same. They likely don't care which soda they're drinking, so I suspect this actually captures a very large amount of soda sales, while still solving the intent of the patron. What's that? There's a process server outside? Whatever for?
- lukevp 2y agoThis was so offensive to imagine as a Coke fan, great choice of metaphor!
- quink 2y agoA perfect analogy, if I were to trust the glass with my deepest darkest secrets, had a relationship with it going back decades, expect it to point me to the right direction and keep track of much of my correspondence, and so on and so forth. OK, maybe a glass of soft drink somehow doesn’t do that, but I suppose it’s perfect analogy adjacent.
- bhelkey 2y ago> I owned a restaurant that gave Pepsi products to customers who explicitly ask for a Coke. Did you tell them they were drinking Pepsi or ask some variant of "Is Pepsi okay?"
- riiii 2y agoAre you from the PR Disaster Mitigation Department trying to find justification for this?
- bhelkey 2y agoWhat are you talking about? A pretty common interaction is: Me: Can I have a coke? Waiter: Is pepsi okay? Me: That's fine Waiter: brings a Pepsi It seems that the above commentor doesn't have this exchange but instead silently substitutes.