Microsoft Wants you to “Bing” Rather than “Google”.

In a week’s time Microsoft will be launching its new Internet Search site, Bing, previously code named “Kumo”. Microsoft tapped Interbrand to conceive this moniker, which is meant to be a verbable phrase. Their hope is that in 6 months time we’ll be “Binging” things rather than “Googling” them.

Reviews have sprung up across pundit sites in the digital space. Their verdict? Microsoft’s offering does innovate in particular search tasks; notably in local, travel, shopping and health. Microsoft leverages an semantic approach to search, scraping partner sites to aggregate product and restaurant reviews for local and shopping, and competitive pricing for travel.

As ambitious as the product is, it certainly is not without its missteps. With as many search tasks it attempts to simplify, the interface seems to lack cohesion and powerful features can easily be missed. What might be more concerning for Bing as a Google replacement is that for searches without these new “task-oriented” frameworks attached, Google still outperforms Microsoft handily.

We’re intrigued with Microsoft’s attempts at improving information presentation, as data visualization and interface design has been a continued interest for us. Yet, if these new “lenses” end up being confusing and inconsistent we’d question what value these piecemeal improvements have on a technology that’s aimed at simply finding things. Microsoft’s new search engine launches on June 3^rd at Bing.com.