Note: I’m not saying that Bing is a bad service! My entire argument is based around the fact that the marketing seems gimmicky and that the name itself might serve as a significant impediment towards adoption. I honestly hope it turns out to be good.
Microsoft announced today a new search initiative (and yet another brand identity) for their struggling game against Google, and unfortunately, it’s not exactly the best name. Microsoft has used too many different brandings for its search initiatives within the past decade (unlike Google and Yahoo who, well, used the same name all throughout), and besides creating confusion for people, all it does is make it harder to create those mental associations Microsoft is looking for.
Once all is said and done, Bing is a search engine which aims to present more relevant information. Since this is the perpetual, never-ending goal of search engines, I can’t actually say that Bing is something new, nor can I agree with the “decision engine” marketing term because, in the end, all search engines exist to help us make decisions. Hopefully, Bing can provide better results than Google, but that completely depends on how much time and effort Microsoft invests into Bing. Given that search was the future, Microsoft might’ve been better off finding a new disruptive technology as opposed to fighting an established goliath.
Back to the name:
Long ago, Yahoo tried to get their name woven into the fabric of public literacy. Yahoo wasn’t successful for the same reason Bing won’t be successful either: they’re both ever so slightly too hard to pronounce as a verb. Here’s a good rundown of worked and what didn’t:
- Yahoo has two syllables with weak starting consonants, of which one is the confused letter Y. It also ends in an audible vowel which, when paired with the next word in the sentence, makes pronunciation harder. Since the next word after the term would likely have been “it,” saying “yahoo it” doesn’t properly roll off the tongue.
- Kumo (the old name for Bing) doesn’t work because it ends on a vowel and has one soft consonant in the middle, deflating the word itself. The word “Kumo” makes the person saying it feel like he’s losing enthusiasm as a result of not holding some degree of assertion through the name.
- Cuil sure as hell didn’t work because no one knew how the hell to pronounce it. (It’s pronounced “cool,” unlike the name)
- Google works because both syllables start with a solid consonant, and the word itself ends in a silent (and therefore irrelevant) vowel. Larry and Sergey got lucky with the name; they were just making a play on Googol, but the end result is the same. The name itself implies an assertive action through the use of hard consonants but succeeds in avoiding aggression because it ends in a soft consonant. The consonant ending also allows the word to easily be appended to other words during pronunciation, especially the word “it.”
Bing is a different case altogether. It’s a monosyllabic word (like Cuil, but it doesn’t look as intimidating), which means the rules change a bit. One-syllable words have the advantage of being quick to pronounce and easy to remember, which also means that the word is best starting and ending with a rather solid consonant (Digg is a good example), but there are too few permutations of letters for any cool monosyllabic words starting with a good, solid consonant to be unused in this world of Web 2.LetsNameOurWebsiteAnything. The problem is that Bing actually sounds cool and usable. Unfortunately, Bing has two drawbacks which set what would otherwise be a rather successful name up for failure:
- It sounds too much like “ping.” While this won’t be a problem for lay-users who don’t know what an ICMP Echo is, it will be a problem for the more advanced users who will inevitably struggle to differentiate the pronunciation of “bing” from “ping.” The problem is that when the advanced users have to put too much effort into saying something, they will subconsciously lose motivation to spread the word, which limits the spread of the brand. This would be the biggest drawback of all since Bing is yet another tech service looking for appeal.
- It just feels analogous to ‘hit,’ ‘bang,’ ‘tap,’ and any other term which falls into that category of slang.
There aren’t really any words left with four letters ending in “ing” that haven’t been taken already, and Bing actually sounds better than what’s left. The best goal for any name is to be easy to pronounce in context while serving as a subconscious motivator to do the act to which the name is tied, which is why Google worked, and which is the only way any other name can work.
Honestly, I wish Bing the best of luck. The world knows how badly Google now needs a competitor in the search space. It’s just that Microsoft’s resources might’ve been better spent on disruption rather than throwing blunted stones at a shielded Goliath. If you want to read a full rundown of the service itself, drop by the WinSuperSite and have at it.
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[...] not already a Microsoft search user, what would make you switch? What would it take for you to “Bing it” instead of “Google it”? posted by Mary Jo Foley May 28, 2009 @ 8:35 [...]
I think Bing is afantastic name. Why so negative? “more advanced users who will inevitably struggle to differentiate the pronunciation of “bing” from “ping.” ” How stupid are you?
Can you justify your claim?
You do realize that the letters ‘b’ and ‘p’ are only different because the letter ‘b’ needs a vowel to even be pronounceable, right? That’s too subtle a difference between two words, and psychologically speaking, that’s enough of an inconvenience to turn people off.
Also, your approach wasn’t exactly the kindest way of trying to refute my point.
I thought that the direction the name would take is it’s the sound you’d hear when a “light bulb goes on above your head”, ie when you’ve got a result, and I’d expect the advertising to go down that route. This concept also chimes (ahem) with the decision engine concept…. You need to find a flight to New York? Bing!!!!
Etc.
But…
a) The logo is *awful*
b) Bing Maps for Enterprise. Eh?
c) It’s like they’ve been working on the concept too much, when, at the end of the, day, it’s just a search engine. No-one really cares (a bit like when Ask tried to push all its new tech)
…oh, and Kumo was far, far better.
a name is nothin .. personally speakin google itself is a shit name and so is yahoo .. at the end of it .. name doesnt matter.. its the way its marketed as well as the final end user functionality..
One of the great feature of bing is auto compete feature, which is similar to Google, though being a blogger I would like to see some quality result from
Bing rather then people who game SEO and come at the the top of Google Search result. Lets hope for something new and useful this time from Microsoft
“Kumo (the old name for Bing) doesn’t work because it ends on a verb”
You mean a vowel? Just wondering!
Yes, I did mean a vowel. I added that line last-minute into my article before pushing it live, which might explain the mixup.
Thanks for pointing it out. Edited accordingly.
I don’t understand why Google is better than Kumo. Yes, the ‘e’ is silent, but phonetically, both are pronounced with the ‘o’ sound at the end of the word. both starts with a fairly strong consonant, the ‘u’ sounds fairly similar to ‘oo’
So by your logic, both should suck or both should work.
Two CNET News bloggers who have assess to it and have used it have stated that surprise, surprise, it’s very good. In fact as good as Google, and better in many places. They are recommending you use it! So much for the failure theory!
@Lo: I think what Bryant is getting at here is “google” sounds like “googol”, and because of that L, it can be attached to other words more easily, unlike Kumo which (thanks to ending with an O) sounds more like it needs an unnatural pause or a W sound.
@RDee, I don’t see anything about Bryant saying the service is bad. I think Bryant is trying to say that the service doesn’t matter if the name itself discourages people from spreading the word.
so i tried actually saying this when i took a shower and its hard to hear a diff b/w bing and ping so i kinda see where your goin
They should have made this simple. “Badda bing” is so culturally and internationally known and it rolls right off the tongue. And I’m not just saying that as a Jersey born American. Its been in so many gangster flicks that you could be in Japan and say, “Badda Bing” and they’d know what you were saying. You could be Berlin and they know. Just my cheap two cents. Keep it simple.
Really? Your basing to whole thing to fail simply because it’s name doesn’t have two syllables? Sensationalist much?
The logo is not bad just needs some gradients and not thrown together like a 5 year old would do. The name on the other hand just doesn’t sound right. Kumo was catchy and caught on real quick. This, erm not so much.
No. I’m saying it could fail because the name isn’t easy enough to mindlessly pronounce. One of the principles behind web success in a world where everyone and his/her mother is trying to build a useful website is to make sure yours is easy to use and stands out to the public. The name is a huge part of that.
I thought wii was a terrible name and looked how well that turned out.
It sounds childish and yet is featured in ads for senior centers.
Sounds lame, but went on to became the biggest console hit ever.
That logo has definitely gotta go. First off… they have it in all lower-case. It’s diminuitive… non assertive. And the font is all rounded with no hard angles too it (like the “n” for example). It needs to converys that it’s powerful, and yet not intimidating. It’s weird all the B.S. ya gotta do to make the hordes of dumb masses pickup on something. Even when the interface is badass you still need word-of-mouth for it to really ignite and catch hold.
RE: the “bing vs. ping” thing… I can sure as heck tell ya it’ll aggravate Techies that have to interfact with the moronic masses at large in the phone support arena. Tech – “Can you please ping this address…” Caller -”It doesn’t come up with any search results.” Techie – slaps forehead.
I’m totally agree’ing with the author about how the name has to catch on. Young non-techie chics were the first ones I ever heard using “google” as a verb in a sentence. “I Google’d it.” (Still irks my ears everytime I hear anybody use it that way, Eeesh.) It became trendy and hip to say it that way. And THAT makes it seem like your hip and in-the-know, and since nobody wants to look like a fool who’s “not-in-the-loop” they all start saying that way just so they don’t fear somebody perceiving them for the noobs that they are.
“Decision engine” <– What the hell is that? I don’t want you making “decisions” on what to show me. Freakin show it all to me. I’ll look at the results and figure out how to change my search terms accordingly. Sounds like their taking the thinking away from you. If they push this buzzword… their WAY dead before they start.
[...] not already a Microsoft search user, what would make you switch? What would it take for you to
Where was the peanut gallery when the name AeroXperience was decided?
I wasn’t here for that. Thankfully, I can also say it’s not going to be a problem in the near future.
You said it buddy.
They were obviously in a meeting and said “We need a noun domain! Like Google!”
Sadly they settled on the worst name I have ever heard in my life.
It has already failed, because the name is absolutely abysmal.
Live Search sounded fine – and they should go back to naming things in a way that makes sense, in groups.
Haha. This article is hopefully written with a major tongue in cheek.
For example:
“Cuil sure as hell didn’t work because no one knew how the hell to pronounce it.”
No, it didn’t work because it couldn’t search. Nearly at all. Try it, it’s still running.
This article puts way too much emphasis on the names. Bing is a bit silly, but so is Google. It just “feels right” because we’re so used to Google. Because it’s a good service, not because it has a good name.
I think the point with Google is that it has been said so long it sounds natural and if Bing can generate the steam to push through it could work.
Where to eat? Just Google/Bing Restaurant near xxxxx. hmm Just Bing it!! haha new Nike slogan Just Bing it. Hm… I Binged her…. well that does sound a little more provocative than I Googled her. Before going on an interview you should really Bing the company. Any way say it enough and it starts to flow.
I hope this article makes it into my next Bing search..
I must agree with Jug.
When I first heard of Google, I said, “What the heck is that? Weird name!”
Shortly thereafter, I started hearing people say “I googled [whatever]” and I thought: that sounds weird. Google as a verb.
Now, people naturally use Google as a verb, just like Xerox (”Please copy this” “Please xerox this”)
Google will be one of the words that has moved from the private domain to the public vernacualr, like xerox, kleenex, etc.
Wil this happen to Bing? Maybe, maybe not. Only time will tell.
The same thinking should also go into whether or not Bing is a good search/decision engine. Only time will tell.
It does not give results quite as comprehensive as Google, but I like its other features and the nice pictures,and the video feature is fantastic..
In all honesty, I don’t see where Microsoft is trying to take us (the PC using public at large) anymore.
It took me a LONG time to jump on the Microsoft bandwagon … I was a staunch WordPerfect user back in the 80s – early 90s. Word? What the heck was everyone going to do with all that complicated stuff? Words I truly ate! By around 93 I was ALL aboard the Microsoft trip. With the dawn of XP, it looked like MS truly beat the IBM / monopolistic scare talk of the US govt and really made the PC feel PERSONAL.
My exerience is in the tech field … I’ve supported desktop PCs in the corporate world for over 20 years.
Bill Gates is what I truly consider an American Success and National Hero. He made his fortune, changed the world as we know it, married someone he seems genuinely happy with … and if that weren’t enough, now he’s feeding the hungry and impoverished. My God! It’s amazing.
What I’m also finding amazing about Mr. Gates is that he seems to completely BE Microsoft. Since he left, MS as a company has nosedived faster than the US Economy! These products! What ARE THEY?
I just bought a new PC (a very nicely decked out HP … bravo for coming as far as they have with the Pavilion line!). It’s a dual core Centrino2 (2.4 ghz), 4gb RAM, 500 gb HD, the list goes on and on. I conceivably have more power in my little 7 pound (ouch) notebook than most companies had in their employ back when I was starting my career.
Is it too much to ask for Vista running in a 64-bit environment (a PC users wet-dream to finally be reality) to actually work? I’ve been reading message board after message board trying to solve some of my own technical issues, and MS has danced around these ridiculous problems for YEARS … and they’ve been allowed to do it!
I REALLY hope Google is developing the next OS … or I swear … I WILL fork over the thousands of dollars to replace all my apps to go MAC. At least those things seem to consistently work … Apple hasn’t seemingly decided that their future lie in a VIDEO GAME MARKET!
*ahem* Now about this Bing thing. Bing? Mohave (perpetrated as a fraud, no less …) THIS from the company that I seriously thought about getting a tattoo with the NT Server box logo because it was so cool (I didn’t, thank God)? This (MS) is the company that literally shoved poor little Novel out to pasture WAY before it’s time … because NT was a good-enough product to stand.
I stumbled onto your website by accident (or coincidence) looking for yet another answer (which doesn’t exist) to a question about why things in Vista never seem to get done correctly (and I’ve seen Win7 … it’s WORSE). I hope my complete and utter RANT here doesn’t offend anyone … hopefully somebody will hear my plea and take it to task to get MS back together and save Americas PCs (or something like that).
Apple’s cute and all, but GEEZ, can u imagine having to look at smiley faces and bombs on the screen to troubleshoot? I like music and pretty pictures too, but I want my PC to be the ROCK and workhorse that it once was.
Thank you for listening.
dr
NYC
Bing is garbage just like all the other microsoft products. Google is better, bing may bring you more results but only 10 are actually what you are looking for. The rest are what Bing thinks you should be looking for. IF you don’t believe do a search for BIng Sucks. the first 10 or so will be actually sites the rest will be Microsoft Sites singing the praise of BIng. Geez I wonder way Microsoft would act like bing is the greastest thing since Windows CE, or Windows ME, or Windows NT, or WIndows 2000. The list goes on and on of Microsoft Crap, that doesnt work right that they push and drops support on a year after the release date. Dont even get me started on the Crap Box. Look Microsoft is the poster company for failures. They are just the champs in marketing. SO please consumer make your on decisions dont let microsoft convince you it is good cause they say it is.
[...] Bing was officially launched June 3, 2009. Before Bing, Microsoft’s search efforts started under MSN before progressing to Live, Windows Live, and then back to Live again in the form of “Live Search". The name itself was chosen because the guys with Kumo (the testing name for Bing) “needed a brand that was as fresh and new as [their] approach. It needed to be like the product — optimized for the Internet.” In other words, it’s yet another web 2.0 name, though thankfully, I seem to have at least been somewhat wrong about the name being a major problem. [...]