Librarian of Fortune

My experiences using Bing #3: quick look-ups

Since I set my default search engine to Bing in mid-August, I've been using it for all the little look-up queries that we hardly think about (until we find ourselves offline):

• Who wrote that report on the high cost of not finding information? (answer: Sue Feldman @ IDC; just Bing the phrase)
• What's a succinct definition of "contingent value"?
• What are three key metrics used by a product development team?
• How do I turn off that darned beep when my Prius is in reverse gear? (OK, so that one wasn't for business, but it was critical to me)

For all  of them, I found my answer within the first 5 or 6 results. Interestingly, when I re-ran the searches on Google, there was very little overlap between the search results of Bing and Google. Both had information that answered my question, even though the information came from different, and equally reliable, sources.

     

I'm getting to like Bing better for these kinds of searches, primarily because the search results page is more helpful when I'm doing quick reference searches. The left side panel of the SRP has recommended alternatives to my search phrase, based on common searches and my search history. While I find the suggestions virtually useless for more in-depth research, they were spot on for these kinds of quick searches.

I also like Bing's default to show a live thumbnail of the web page when I mouse over a title and, more importantly, the ability to search that page from within the Bing search results page. Google displays a larger screen shot; good for getting a first impression of a site, but not interactive, and definitely not as helpful when I am looking for a quick answer

I still miss Google's one-click ability to limit results to the past year as a quick-n-dirty way to filter search results, but I'm sticking to Bing for quick-reference searches.

My experiences using Bing #2: multi-phrase search

Continuing my report on using Bing for business-related search...

First, a point of clarification. Since I want to see how Bing works for me in my everyday searching, I am using the personalization features that I routinely have on. These include the low-level adult content filter (when you give a lot of presentations, you want this on. Trust me.), setting my location to "USA" rather than a city or zip code, and displaying 50 search results per page.

I was looking for examples of financial services companies successfully implementing a social media presence. Keeping the search simple, my query was:

"social media" "case study" "financial services"

I ran the search on both Bing and Google, limiting them to the prior year. As noted earlier, Bing doesn't have the same functionality as Google for date limiting. As a stand-in, I included (2010 OR 2011) to my query in Bing. While a work-around, it worked pretty well in this instance.

The results were surprisingly different; with simpler queries, I usually see significant overlap. Interestingly, both sets of search results were relevant, and my research was definitely enhanced by using both Bing and Google.

Takeaway: When I'm constructing a more complex search than just a couple of words, I'll use Bing in addition to whatever other search engine I use.

 

 

Bing's alternative to Google Scholar

I have already had several people ask me whether Bing offers something comparable to Google Scholar. Bing's alternative is Microsoft Academic Search, and its equivalent of Google Scholar Alert is an RSS feed you can create from a search results page.

My experiences using Bing #1: pathetic date-limiting feature

Following up on my newsletter article on Bing's high "search success" rating, I have set my default search engine on my browsers to Bing.com. I'll be posting highlights (and lowlights) here, particularly when they relate to research-related searching.

Today, I was looking for new info on word cloud-generating tools (e.g., Wordle.net and tocloud.com). I wasn't looking for news... just the buzz from the last 3 or 4 months. I've grown accustomed to using Google's "More search tools" feature that lets me limit my search to newer sites. (I know, I know, date limitations aren't reliable. And I still find 'em helpful when I'm looking for a few good items.)

Bing's not-so-Advanced Search option doesn't offer a date filter. On the search results page some but by no means all search results pages, I have the option to limit the search to the past 24 hours, past week or past month. According to the Bing user support forums, Bing said it was working on this for two years, before it was finally rolled out this past March 16. Two years in the making and this is all we get?

On top of that, it appears that the only searches that are "rewarded" with a date limiting filter are the simplest, one-word searches. A search for autism resulted in the filter appearing; a search for autism ASL didn't. And that query for word cloud maker? Nope, no date filter.

Test: filter search to the last X days/months/years

Google - "You betcha."

Bing - "You don't really need to limit your search beyond one month. You're thinking too much; trust us."