at least no chairs were thrown…
,----[ Quote ]
| A friend of mine was walked out of Microsoft today.
|
| I’m not talking about Stuart Scott, the now former Microsoft CIO who was
| canned for “violating company policies.” No, another friend decided to leave
| the MSN Live Search team and join Google Kirkland.
`----
http://selberg.org/2007/11/06/at-least-no-chairs-were-thrown/
On Friday:
Another Microsoft Search reorg: Shum now leads engineering
,----[ Quote ]
| That same month, Windows Live Platform VP Blake Irving resigned, as did Chris
| Payne. the Corporate Vice President in charge of Windows Live Search.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=927
Related:
Microsoft Windows Live VP to resign
,----[ Quote ]
| Blake Irving, a Corporate Vice President in Microsoft's Windows
| Live Platform group, is resigning his post, according to sources
| close to the company.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=296
Former Microsoft Search Chief Bill Bliss On Early Search Missteps
,----[ Quote ]
| Bill's biggest regret? Not bypassing middle management that wasn't
| listening to him scream about the coming threat of Google and going
| right up to Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.
`----
http://searchengineland.com/070309-094930.php
Microsoft Search Leader To Leave Company
,----[ Quote ]
| The Microsoft Corp. vice president who led the company's push into
| Internet search is leaving the software giant as the effort he
| helped launch loses ground against lead competitor Google Inc.
`----
http://online.wsj.com/preview_login.html?url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB117329976478329930.html%3Fmod%3Dyahoo_hs%26ru%3Dyahoo
http://tinyurl.com/2jran7
Live Search's High Dive
,----[ Quote
| Microsoft's August and September declines clearly show that gimmicks aren't
| enough to gain and maintain relevant search market share.
`----
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/web_services_browser/live_searchs_high_dive.html?kc=MWRSS02129TX1K0000535
How Microsoft Clubs to Search Gains
,----[ Quote ]
| We checked with Hitwise, and they explained that June gains include “searches
| automatically generated from a promotion on club.live.com,” up to June 9,
| 2007. After that they stopped counting the data.
`----
http://gigaom.com/2007/07/27/how-microsoft-clubs-to-search-gains/
Tracking Internet Use Remains Difficult
,----[ Quote ]
| For example, this month Nielsen said search-engine queries for No. 3-ranked
| Microsoft Corp. jumped about 80 percent in June, a curious development for a
| search engine that had been continuously losing market share.
|
| Microsoft said the gains were the result of a word game promotion, in which
| players had to form words out of a jumble of letters. As part of the game,
| Microsoft's search engine automatically hunted for Web pages that contained
| the word being guessed at.
|
| The promotion raises the question of whether these clicks were the result of
| using automated means, and therefore shouldn't be counted.
|
| Nielsen product manager Scott Ross said the company sees no need to change
| the June search-engine rankings. Yet, he conceded that critics -- including
| Yahoo, operator of the world's second most popular search engine -- may also
| have a point about Microsoft using questionable means to spark the surge in
| popularity.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070725/tracking_internet_usage.html?.v=1
By E-mail:
,----[ Quote ]
| [...]
|
| Live.com has been pinging people's sites with what appears to be referrer
| spam. There is a thread about it here:
| http://www.webmasterworld.com/msn_microsoft_search/3424476.htm
|
| I posted a summary here -- I suspect that it's just old fashioned referrer
| spam: http://pocketseo.com/analytics/146
|
| Some other takes on it:
|
|
http://andrewu.co.uk/webtech/comment/?odd_referrer_spamlike_behaviour_from_microsoft
|
|
http://www.bitworm.com/search/2007/is-microsoft-live-search-stuffing-our-log-files/
|
| I thought you might be interested. I attached a sample excerpt from one of
| my sites' logs in case you haven't seen it before. [...]
`----
Microsoft’s Club Live fiasco
,----[ Quote ]
| People were using the macro on more than 3 games at a time, on more than 2
| accounts at a time, why Microsoft didn’t pick up on the fact that in the
| first few days some people had accumulated enough for 3 Zunes each is beyond
| us. Some were lucky, others, not so much.
|
| [...]
|
| So far no one has been banned from using their accounts, which they needed to
| sign up, probably because they did not break any laws, or probably because
| Microsoft didn’t want that hassle and liked their new found traffic.
`----
http://www.blogthe.net/2007/07/16/microsofts-club-live-fiasco/
Bots Helped To Boost Microsoft Live Search Gains
,----[ Quote ]
| In a blog post, Compete analyst Steve Willis attributed Microsoft's
| search gains to prizes awarded to users participating in Live Search
| Club, which features games that post queries to Microsoft's search
| engine.
|
| [...]
|
| Microsoft is essentially being DDoSed by thousands of people hundreds
| of times per minute, but they are mistaking this rise in traffic for
| people actually using Live Search."
`----
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201001092
Microsoft ties Windows Live services to OS in updates
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft is tying its Windows Live services directly to its Windows OS.
`----
http://www.itworld.com/Comp/2218/070905mslivesvcs/index.html
Windows Live to Get First OEM Bundle
,----[ Quote ]
| The initial bundling would be for the Live homepage and Windows Live
| Toolbar, according to sources. Live search also is expected to be
| included in the deal. Other products or services could come in the
| future.
`----
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/web_services_browser/live_side.html?kc=MWRSS02129TX1K0000535
http://tinyurl.com/2jjymp
Older:
Microsoft 'not happy' with search results
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft is continuing to lose market share in the search business
| to industry rival Google, something the software maker's financial
| chief said Thursday he is "not happy" about.
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6153584.html
Will Berkowitz keep Windows Live?
,----[ Quote ]
| At the risk of moving this article over to the opinion blog, many
| of the problems Berkowitz faces were caused not by too much focus
| on technical wizardry, but by a lack of clear direction, both for
| MSN and for Windows Live.
`----
http://www.liveside.net/blogs/main/archive/2006/12/10/ny-times-will-berkowitz-keep-windows-live.aspx
Sources: Several Windows Live Projects Halted
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft's Windows Live desktop search project has been
| shelved "indefinitely," although not much reasoning has been
| given as to the reason for its demise.
`----
http://www.betanews.com/article/Sources_Several_Windows_Live_Projects_Halted/1163715423
Ozzie: Vista, Office must adapt to Web era
,----[ Quote ]
| Ozzie said that the transition to integrate online services into Microsoft
| products has been a challenge but that changes within the company are
| happening.
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6133895.html
Will Web 2.0 ultimately kill Windows?
,----[ Quote ]
| Allchin shared his thoughts on Windows Live (which, along with Windows and
| developer tools also falls under his organization); competition with Google
| and Apple; and why a client-based version of Windows won?t ever completely
| disappear, regardless of how successful Web services become.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=66
MSN Still Going Nowhere Fast
,----[ Quote ]
| It is worth noting that Microsoft still hasn't made any headway
| in the search-and-portal game and, in fact, is falling farther andf
| arther behind. As a result, it is not surprising that Steve Ballmer
| is now warning media companies that Google is the Evil Empire --
| because no other competitive tactic has worked.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/061116/20767_id.html?.v=1
Google, Yahoo gain share in U.S. Web search market
,----[ Quote ]
| Web audience measurement firm comScore Networks said No. 3-ranked
| Microsoft's share slid 0.5 percent to 10.5 percent of U.S. Web
| searches while InterActiveCorp's Ask.com's share dipped 0.1
| percent to 5.4 percent.
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6150230.html
Is Windows Live dying?
,----[ Quote ]
| Over the last year, Microsoft's Windows Live service lineup has
| grown exponentially. At one point months ago, it seemed clear
| that every service Microsoft brought online would fall under the
| Live brand, but lately the trend seems to be moving slowly in
| the opposite direction. What's happening to Windows Live?
`----
http://arstechnica.com/journals/microsoft.ars/2007/2/20/7154
|
|
