At last - the MSN Search beta is out.
Will MSN mount a significant challenge to Google? The jury is out on that one, though Google apparently rushed to update its index in advance of the MSN
Search release; Google's home page now boasts a more than 8 billion-page search index, nearly double the previous number of pages. Microsoft says MSN Search offers a more than 5 billion-page index.
Oh boy, already a case of "mine is bigger than yours."
So where will the Microsoft advantage come in? In terms of branding, Google's got game, and the majority of consumer mindshare. Like
Yahoo!, which also has a strong brand presence and an indelible mark in the consumers' minds, Google is, well, part of our daily lives. It's a habit.
Now, what Microsoft has that Google doesn't,
is the greater MSN network - a global community comprised of diverse channels, decent content, and a few must go-to destinations. If I want to search on MSN Music, the fledgling online music service,
I will eventually be able to do that.
Increasingly personal searches of the PC desktop are also in the offing. By virtue of the Windows operating system, running on the vast majority of desktop
PCs, Microsoft believes it will have the edge in desktop search, already proving to be the next battleground.
But the reality is that any search engine, no matter the brand or the appealing user
interface, must offer quick, relevant, and comprehensive results.
Meanwhile, let's get down to what really matters: There's got to be a better name for MSN Search than, well, MSN Search.
Right?
If you agree, send your most creative ideas to us and we'll round 'em up and pick a new name for MSN Search.
Here are some ideas for starters: How about Schmoft? Or Smurch? Smoft? Or
the classic Emms, or Emma?
Or, for something completely different: Bean.