Desperation Sets In: Bill Gates Finally Launching His Plan To Bribe Users
from the search-fraud,-here-we-come dept
Way back in 2005, Bill Gates announced that one way that Microsoft could beat Google would be to pay users to use Microsoft's search engine. At the time, we noted all the problems with this approach. First off, it's been tried and failed many times in the past (even Google once had a program to pay users, though almost no one remembers it). Many such systems are also prone to gaming. Also, while we were just noting yesterday that money doesn't "ruin everything," it can change the way people view a service -- and not always in a positive manner.Either way, Microsoft is finally moving forward with this plan, as Bill Gates is announcing a new program to give cash back to users who end up buying things following a Live.com search. It's not a pure "pay-for-search" offering, instead focusing on offering cash back after the fact for buyers. That's certainly better than a pure bribe 'em strategy, but it still seems like something of a desperation play. Basically, it's admitting that Microsoft hasn't been able to compete with Google in terms of overall user experience and now has to resort to paying users instead. In situations like this, implementation is everything, and while people will definitely use this to get certain discounts, it's not clear that it will really make a huge dent in Microsoft's efforts to lure users away from Google's overall search. In general, though, business models that pay people for doing something useful tend to make sense (it's paying them for their effort). Business models that simply pay people to attract their attention don't tend to work nearly as well (and are much less sustainable). In this case, it seems like Microsoft is doing the latter, rather than former, which may make it difficult to succeed.
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Filed Under: business models, competition, incentives, microsoft live, pay, search
Companies: google, microsoft
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Too late!
BidMogul.com
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Re: Too late!
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Microsoft paying me to use Google?
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Re: Microsoft paying me to use Google?
It's win-win! For Microsoft, anyway.
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Re: Microsoft paying me to use Google?
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Re: Microsoft paying me to use Google?
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Coupons/On Sale
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Re: Coupons/On Sale
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poor old Bill
The problem here, is that Microsoft is to big. It's like the government, I don't trust them. Vista sucks, what a joke. How can you have all this money and not do anything right.
Walk away Bill.
Your a dork, you had your phone, but Google is the future as they actually care about what people want. Microsoft will never get that.
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Accordingly, any value offered will be highly limited. And because there will be no real benefit to the average user, there will be no reason for the average user to switch to Microsoft's search.
To put it simply: Failure.
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poor old Bill
The problem here, is that Microsoft is to big. It's like the government, I don't trust them. Vista sucks, what a joke. How can you have all this money and not do anything right.
Walk away Bill.
Your a dork, you had your fun, but Google is the future as they actually care about what people want. Microsoft will never get that.
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poor old Bill
The problem here, is that Microsoft is to big. It's like the government, I don't trust them. Vista sucks, what a joke. How can you have all this money and not do anything right.
Walk away Bill.
Your a dork, you had your fun, but Google is the future as they actually care about what people want. Microsoft will never get that.
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This is what little Billy had to say...
Tell you what. Ya, you lusers out there. Come use "my" search engine, and I'LL FUCKING PAY YOU! Take THAT google!
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cooll
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What a joke...
This is just like a little kid trying to get more friends by buying them gifts. "I'll give you this Nintendo DS if you will be my friend". It is really sad...
http://www.custompcmax.com
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Mindshare
Not necessarily. I haven't used a Microsoft search engine in years. If they've made searching at least as good as Google, then bribing me might get me to try them again. If it's as good as Google, but no better, I might as well use Microsoft. If it's better than Google, I'll switch to Microsoft. I don't expect anyone other than hackers to make a lot of money off of it, but it's something to grab a headline and get some bloggers to write about it...
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Spam?
Google will never stop supporting the spam sites with their engine as they are a large part of their adsense income.
Microsoft could easily rate spam pages lower without effecting their bottom line as nobody uses MS ads to fill their spam sites - they use Adsense.
If Microsoft took steps to boycott spam sites, their results would actually be better than Google's...
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The Whole Product
How is 'giving cash back' not a part of the overall user experience?
This is competition, just the way we like it. May or may not work, but MSFT is offering something of value to the customer, and seeing if it resonates.
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Microsoft Vs. Google
(PDS.) Bias broadcast TV stations I don't watch anymore: ABC and NBC; a bias TV program: the View.
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Not to get on the politcal thing too much... but Hillary is bytch.
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Google Checkout?
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I find it interesting.
It's interesting that they not only quote an incorrect price, one with the "cash back" computed into the total, but the store that had the best price was listed as a cash back member since 2006. Strange, since this program just rolled out.
First off, you don't get the cash back taken off your purchase, but have to let it accrue until it exceeds $5.00 before you can claim it, which in my books makes the price quoted incorrect. You WILL have to pay the full price up front. I don't know of anybody who sees things that way. The money coming back is a little extra you don't really expect to see.
EtG
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Re: I find it interesting.
has been operational since late 2006). They mostly left the JF alone, except for the shopping part which they have no re-introduced as their own.
It's not a bad deal, but like all offerings you do need to be aware of what you are getting into. For buying something like a DVD, your cashback is going to be small, but if you can find a good deal on something along the lines of say, like a camcorder, the "cash back" can make the bottom line pricing better than most other online offerings.
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Bizrate used to do this
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The End Of Empire
Yes, the XBox business is finally profitable, but the business has less strategic value than was once imagined. The desktop applications business is strong, but we can all see that the required shift to a asp model (driven by Google and linux and open source) will decrease operating margins without a corresponding increase in volume. The OS business is a mess. The Search is game over.
Yes there are some good things happening at MS, (their CRM products for instance) but they do not offer the opportunity to create dominant positions of the past and as such their influence is now on the wane.
All empires eventually end. The reasons are not really complex. Inevitably size, complexity, territorial reach, and stratification, become insurmountable obstacles to their success.
Such is the story unfolding before us.
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Microsoft and Bribes
As for their fluffing around with search - the key is adding value to (the use of) their products, not adding extra layers of icing - after a while the cake sinks ignominiously into the pavement. Unless they actually come up with an online "experience" that I like, I won't waste my time.
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when "free" isn't good enough for your users
If I were Microsoft and I wanted to get into advertising revenue, I'd forget the anomaly that is Google and forget trying to be a "me too" company. I'd start to read Seth's blog and read up on Jack Trout et al. Focus pinky! Focus!
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