The spat between Google and Microsoft over search indexing techniques continued this week, with Google principal engineer Matt Cutts penning ain which he said he was surprised by the degree to which Microsoft denied copying Google search results."I didn't expect that Microsoft would deny the claims so strongly," Cutts wrote.He posted video of a Tuesday panel on which he and Microsoft's Harry Shum faced off over the Google copying accusations, and also posted additional screen shots that he said show the dummy search results that Bing copied from Google."I think if you asked a regular person about these screenshots, Microsoft's 'We do not copy Google's results' statement wouldn't ring completely true," Cutts wrote.At issue is a Tuesday Search Engine Land story that said Bing was copying search results from Google. Google , and said it had conducted a test to prove its suspicions. Specifically, Google took a phrase that the average Google user was unlikely to search - like "mbzrxpgjys" - and manually paired it with an unlikely search result, like the homepage for RIM. These dummy search results were added to Google on December 17 and by December 31, about 9 of the 100 tests added to Google were showing up on Bing, which Google said proved its point.Google said Microsoft was collecting data via Suggested Sites, which suggests similar Web sites you might want to visit, and the Bing toolbar, which has a default setting to collects information.Microsoft's Shum said Tuesday that "it's not like we actually copy anything; it's really that we learn from the customers, who opt-in to share the data with us." On Thursday, Microsoft took a harder-line approach andof engaging in a honeypot attack and going after Bing because it was worried about its growth.In his post, Cutts posted a screen shot of IE8's Suggested Sites permission pop-up, which he said does not adequately explain what type of information is being collected."I think my Mom would be confused that saying 'Yes' to that dialog will send what she searches for on Google and what she clicks on to Microsoft," Cutts wrote. "I don't think that IE8′s disclosure is clear and conspicuous enough that a reasonable consumer could make an informed choice and know that IE8 will send their Google queries/clicks to Microsoft."Cutts also took issue with Microsoft's assertion that data collected from Suggested Sites and the toolbar is one of many indexing factors."If clicks on Google really account for only 1/1000th (or some other trivial fraction) of Microsoft's relevancy, why not just stop using those clicks and reduce the negative coverage and perception of this?" he asked. "And if Microsoft is unwilling to stop incorporating Google's clicks in Bing's rankings, doesn't that argue that Google's clicks account for much more than 1/1000th of Bing's rankings?"Cutts said that he has heard convincing arguments that claim Bing's results are due to generalized clickstream processing rather than code that specifically targets Google. "I'd love if Microsoft would clarify that, but at least one example has surfaced in which Microsoft was targeting Google's urls specifically," Cutts said.In closing, Cutts said that he knows the engineers at Microsoft "work incredibly hard to compete with Google," but "it's because of how hard those engineers work that I think Microsoft should stop using clicks on Google in Bing's rankings.""I think Bing's engineers deserve to know that when they beat Google on a query, it's due entirely to their hard work. Unless Microsoft changes its practices, there will always be a question mark," he concluded.The battle has not gone unnoticed. Stephen Colbert, which counts Bing among his show's sponsors, poked fun at the drama this week."For the first time ever, someone's search history has been busted for something other than porn," he said.Colbert pointed at one of the dummy searches Google made up -hiybbprqag - and said that "evidently, 'hiybbprqag' is a word meaning, 'You got served.'""But you know what, folks? You know what? Anybody who knows me knows Stephen Colbert stands by his sponsors. And I want to say to all my friends at Bing, and I mean this guys, hiybbprqag," he concluded.For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at .Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cIn My Own Words . Nu Europe (Union Square Music) . Bon Blanco .Arqer .Download We Rule the Danza
Google vs. Bing: Google's Cutts Surprised by Bing Denials
The spat between Google and Microsoft over search indexing techniques continued this week, with Google principal engineer Matt Cutts penning ain which he said he was surprised by the degree to which Microsoft denied copying Google search results."I didn't expect that Microsoft would deny the claims so strongly," Cutts wrote.He posted video of a Tuesday panel on which he and Microsoft's Harry Shum faced off over the Google copying accusations, and also posted additional screen shots that he said show the dummy search results that Bing copied from Google."I think if you asked a regular person about these screenshots, Microsoft's 'We do not copy Google's results' statement wouldn't ring completely true," Cutts wrote.At issue is a Tuesday Search Engine Land story that said Bing was copying search results from Google. Google , and said it had conducted a test to prove its suspicions. Specifically, Google took a phrase that the average Google user was unlikely to search - like "mbzrxpgjys" - and manually paired it with an unlikely search result, like the homepage for RIM. These dummy search results were added to Google on December 17 and by December 31, about 9 of the 100 tests added to Google were showing up on Bing, which Google said proved its point.Google said Microsoft was collecting data via Suggested Sites, which suggests similar Web sites you might want to visit, and the Bing toolbar, which has a default setting to collects information.Microsoft's Shum said Tuesday that "it's not like we actually copy anything; it's really that we learn from the customers, who opt-in to share the data with us." On Thursday, Microsoft took a harder-line approach andof engaging in a honeypot attack and going after Bing because it was worried about its growth.In his post, Cutts posted a screen shot of IE8's Suggested Sites permission pop-up, which he said does not adequately explain what type of information is being collected."I think my Mom would be confused that saying 'Yes' to that dialog will send what she searches for on Google and what she clicks on to Microsoft," Cutts wrote. "I don't think that IE8′s disclosure is clear and conspicuous enough that a reasonable consumer could make an informed choice and know that IE8 will send their Google queries/clicks to Microsoft."Cutts also took issue with Microsoft's assertion that data collected from Suggested Sites and the toolbar is one of many indexing factors."If clicks on Google really account for only 1/1000th (or some other trivial fraction) of Microsoft's relevancy, why not just stop using those clicks and reduce the negative coverage and perception of this?" he asked. "And if Microsoft is unwilling to stop incorporating Google's clicks in Bing's rankings, doesn't that argue that Google's clicks account for much more than 1/1000th of Bing's rankings?"Cutts said that he has heard convincing arguments that claim Bing's results are due to generalized clickstream processing rather than code that specifically targets Google. "I'd love if Microsoft would clarify that, but at least one example has surfaced in which Microsoft was targeting Google's urls specifically," Cutts said.In closing, Cutts said that he knows the engineers at Microsoft "work incredibly hard to compete with Google," but "it's because of how hard those engineers work that I think Microsoft should stop using clicks on Google in Bing's rankings.""I think Bing's engineers deserve to know that when they beat Google on a query, it's due entirely to their hard work. Unless Microsoft changes its practices, there will always be a question mark," he concluded.The battle has not gone unnoticed. Stephen Colbert, which counts Bing among his show's sponsors, poked fun at the drama this week."For the first time ever, someone's search history has been busted for something other than porn," he said.Colbert pointed at one of the dummy searches Google made up -hiybbprqag - and said that "evidently, 'hiybbprqag' is a word meaning, 'You got served.'""But you know what, folks? You know what? Anybody who knows me knows Stephen Colbert stands by his sponsors. And I want to say to all my friends at Bing, and I mean this guys, hiybbprqag," he concluded.For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at .Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cIn My Own Words . Nu Europe (Union Square Music) . Bon Blanco .Arqer .Download We Rule the Danza