It’s the first day of June today, summer is officially huffing above us, and there’s no going back to that brief flowering moment of May. Another thing you can’t go back to: the old, non-social Bing.
Prior to today, Bingers still had the option of using the previous incarnation of Bing or taking a great leap forward into the social era of the internets and embracing the new Bing, which features a three-column format to show you snapshots (center) of search results and the social sidebar (right) of what your Facebook and Twitter familiars are talking about in addition to the traditional “10 blue links” (left). As of June 1 – today – though, Bing has decided that the stragglers and traditionalists in the United States needed that final nudge to embrace the new format.
The Bing Team has been feeling a little overwhelmed by today’s events.
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@bing Are you excited for more #newBing news? We can barely contain ourselves! Anyone got a paper bag we can breathe into?
The aim of new Bing is to virtually replicate the social structure that most of us rely on when we need some answers or advice by integrating our personal online networks with search results. It’s a pretty heft counter to Google’s Search Plus Your World, especially since Bing has access to that rich Facebook pool of user information that Google has been thus far prevented from tapping into.
To commence with the new era of Bing, the Bing Team also unveiled a new marketing campaign for the product that emphasizes the social aspect of the redesign. If you’re a TV watcher, you’ll likely see these short spots if you tune in to the MTV Movie Awards or the season finale of Mad Men (which I hear a couple of you like to watch).
The new ads are a part of a season-long effort by the Bing Team that they’ve declared the Bing Summer of Doing that will include an extended social media campaign featuring “daily searches designed to inspire doing while rewarding searchers with cool prizes” (most likely with Bing Rewards). Bing wants so badly that you get up offa that thang and dance till you feel better that it’s partnered up with DoSomething.org in order to encourage people to give a little back to their communities. Bing is also emceeing a national daily challenge called “The Hunt, 11 Days of Doing” that looks to motivate teens to take part in 11 days of challenges that, in some fashion, improve their communities. The 11 Days of Doing kicks off on July 10, so if you’re a teen or you know one that needs to get a little more active, tell them they’ve got a little over a month to get in shape before the challenge commences.
[Via Bing Search Blog.]