Earlier this week, Google revealed the results of a sting operation that appeared to catch Bing red-handed. Microsoft has apparently been using Internet Explorer to determine which queries and search results their users were clicking on when using Google, and they incorporated that information into Bing's search results. Although Google says this is unfair copying of search results, Microsoft is claiming that the information is just a small part of their overall formula for ranking search results.
The debate has received a lot of attention. Even Colbert had something to say about it: "Evidently, hiybbprqag is a word meaning 'You got serverd!'"
This debate has been good fodder for my Web Science course, and it was even relevant to my Seminar class which discussed ethics and intellectual property this morning. Search engine results are intellectual property, so is Microsoft's use of clickstream data fair use, or did they cross the line?
Update:
This post generated some interest on my Facebook account. One of the comments included this link to Danny Sullivan's article that gives more analysis of the situation.
Is Bing A Better Search Engine?
ReplyDeleteWe have created a logical test that shows which search engine provides better search results. Google or Bing? I will explain the test on this page.
First, I would like to make the test concept more clear with several examples:
Say we take a series of Titles to search on Google and Bing for comparison.
Here are several example: (all the tests are at www.rssfeedrss.com/index2.html)
Title 1) Patients are willing to undergo multiple tests for new cancer treatments
http://www.rssfeedrss.com/test2.html
Title 2) Conference on composite materials for structural performance: Towards higher limits
http://www.rssfeedrss.com/test4.html
Now, I explain the way this test works.
Each title is about two or three main keywords.
For example Title 1 is about cancer treatment.
Title 2 is about composite material.
I propose a logical test that uses Google, and also Bing search results that extracts the main keywords in a logical manner. The better search engine will provide a better and more relevant extraction based on this logical test. I like to emphasize logic.
Now what is this logical test?
The better search engine provides search results that contain higher number of main keywords in the search page results (usually in bold).
For example, if we take title 1 to either Google or Bing and make a search on the whole title and then count the number of times the main keywords appear in the search results (usually in Bold), the better search engine will give us cancer treatment and not other words. That means if you count the number of times the keywords cancer treatment appear in search results in both Google and Bing, Bing provides a higher quantity.
I used both Google and Bing for the test on the page www.rssfeedrss.com/index2.html and Bing provided a better search. You can do this test in-house.
I will propose this test in search engine conferences. It is a valid test.
I can email you the perl file that performed the test. Call 949-500-8638 or email info@katir.com.
In fact, if you continue the test to second page results, it also shows which search engine provides better search results for the second page or third page or....
Why is this test valid?
It is not very complex to prove why this test is valid. If you type a sentence that contains several main keywords, you prefer more information about those main keywords. The higher quantity of those main keywords prove the page is more relevant and the search engine has delivered more relevant results.
You may want to read a good book on how search engines work, like:
ReplyDeleteAn Introduction to Search Engines and Web Navigation
http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-047052684X.html
before putting too much effort into trying to get your method published.