What are the implications of Microsoft’s So.cl? Importance: [rating=1] (currently) Recommended link: Previous announcement of So.cl launch

Our commentary on So.cl

So.cl was launched over the last weekend. It's a strange time to launch a product, particularly following the big Facebook IPO announcement. Apparently Microsoft wasn’t looking to make a big bang and are still refining their new service and how to position it. Still, Microsoft is still a major provider of search, so we think it warrants an alert since you may be asked about it by colleagues or clients. You may need to say “it’s not relevant to our digital strategy”. This post explains why.

What is So.cl?

So what is So.cl? Is it a social network? Well no, not really, despite the headline that's what it will be called... The main welcome page carousel doesn't clearly show any differentiation - we have many ways to "connect…

How popular is Bing and how do its SEO ranking factors differ from Google?

We are only 4 months into 2011, but I don't think Microsoft and specifically the Bing team could have asked for a better start to the year! Conversations about the search engine only seem to be heading in one direction, the same direction as the number of people using their service - up. In a previous post this year I discussed how searches on Bing were increasing, well this trend has not changed. In recent posts on Mashable, bloggers are showing how, if current trends continue, Bing could well overtake Google in the US.

Summary of the current Bing trends

Bing accounted for 30% of all searches in the US during March 2011 In September 2010, Bing accounted 24% of searches If the same trend continues it would mean by…