Report: Bing nails search deals with Twitter, Facebook
Microsoft executive Qi Lu will reportedly make a big announcement onstage at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco later on Wednesday morning: that its search engine, Bing, has inked deals with both Twitter and Facebook to bring real-time status updates and tweets into search results. That's something you can't find on Google.
According to AllThingsD's Kara Swisher, neither partnership will actually turn into a product for "weeks, if not months," and that both Twitter and Facebook have also been talking to Google about similar deals.
When asked about the deal announcement earlier on Wednesday at Web 2.0 Summit, Microsoft director of search Stefan Weitz declined to comment, saying, "I have no idea."
Facebook's mum, too. "We don't comment on speculation," a statement e-mailed on Wednesday morning by Facebook spokeswoman Kathleen Loughlin read. "Later today, COO Sheryl Sandberg and VP of Engineering Mike Schroepfer will be speaking at Web 2.0 at which time they will be available to answer questions regarding Facebook."
Rumors started swirling earlier this month that Twitter was looking to make big search-results partnerships with Google and Microsoft.
Microsoft already has a stake in Facebook, which it obtained when it invested $240 million in the social network--allegedly beating Google to the punch then, too--two years ago.
While Twitter is far smaller than Facebook, it's already a step ahead in searchability: it acquired third-party Twitter search app Summize last year and built it into the powerful, real-time Twitter Search. Facebook used to keep all of its data behind a log-in wall, but two years ago started to make the first steps toward becoming more accessible to search engines when it gave members the option to let their profiles show up in "people search" queries on the likes of Google.
More recently, it's been making additional small moves toward opening profile content to the Web, like redefining its privacy controls so that members can specify which of their information and updates can be made public.
This post was updated at 9:53 a.m. PT.
Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos. E-mail Caroline. 
Why would I shut down my facebook account? Because things I post on facebook are intended for people that I have specifically accepted to see said posts. I don't want any schmuck using Bing to find my posts from a search.....
Privacy issues?
That's as brilliant as a black hole.
Besides, who else could find a way to make a search engine even less secure?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10380846-245.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Got to love using the 'free' part to avoid regulations like their google voice product and on other such google products. I am amazed though how many things google can sell Ads in.. since thats their only way of financing their 'free' stuff.
Also for a company that made itself in search.. why is google custom search so bad.. maybe because people actually have to pay for it.
So go Bing.. just a little less evil (for now).
Plus Facebook actually listens to the users and admit mistakes and fix them when they disrupt the heard too much.
I have no idea about Twitter.
is Microsoft really willing to pay so much just to say they beat Google to stuff like this? They've obviously have way too much money.
M$ doesn't have customers anymore, just slaves and victims. Neither of which are known to think when it counts and that's the way they like it.
- by Dalkorian October 22, 2009 11:37 AM PDT
- The world needs to rally together and destroy bung before it's to late. The formerly-known-as-MSN-network died for a reason, the world doesn't want to be forced into M$ slavery. Slavery is wrong and so is everything about the repackaged and regurgitated garbage that is bung.
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