Is Bing (Microsoft's Decision Engine) the next Yoogle! (Yahoo! meets Google)?

Well,...only time will tell what Bing will become. But, what we do know is that Bing is growing faster than ever, and they keep gaining market share. Take a look at these numbers as they show the year-over-year query growth rates for bing in the past several months:

December, 2009: 49.4%, November, 2009: 46.0%, October, 2009: 30.8%, September, 2009: 30.7%, August, 2009: 31.8%, July, 2009: 15.6%

What we love so much about it is that they're radically different than other search sites. As a "decision engine", Bing presents charismatic photography when you first land on the site (this changes daily) and you're able to go through compelling images (i.e., breathtaking shots) of different places, countries, animals, or even events. As we speak, they're showcasing images relevant to the 2010 Olympics, set in Vancouver.

There's a reason for their growth, aside from the fact that they're spending countless dollars on advertising/PR initiatives. It's that they're not trying to be different, they truly are different. Hence, they're able to connect with those they'd hope to connect with on a weekly, daily, and even hourly basis. 

Bing has won our hearts and we believe will continue to push along, ultimately taking the lead in the search, or rather, "decision" space. Why would you want to search (generically) when you can make "decisions"? What Bing has built/is building will fundamentally change the game. But, it doesn't have to stop there. This shift can be applied to any business/company that sees value in doing something different. In being able to connect the right way.

If you're truly ready to make the shift, then now's the time. Otherwise, "bing and decide" ;).

Yes,...Yahoo! is back in the spotlight. But, is it for the right reasons? Yahoo! will spend more than $100 million to try and "emotionally" connect with YOU. The (web) company’s new tagline is, “It’s Y!ou”, clearly making the focus more about YOU than Yahoo!. Or, is it? In the world of building great brands is spending $100 million truly necessary to connect on an emotional level? Or, instead, is this a stealthy attempt to take the spotlight away from some of the competition; Google?

“The focus of the company is to really engage and personalize Yahoo for the users,” says Bartz. “Yahoo is a really unique company. It is the only brand that can make the promise of uniting my world and your world. We do deliver information about the world and we do deliver information relevant to you.”

Regardless of predicting what will and won't work to "emotionally connect" with YOU, only time and YOU will be able to tell Yahoo!'s future.  A prediction: Yahoo! will continue to spend lots and lots of money to win YOU over, even for a moment.