Try a Search Engine Blind Taste Test

King of Pop tops yearly lists for Google, Yahoo, Bing

(NEWSER) - Michael Jackson commanded more global attention than any other person or thing this year: the deceased pop singer was the No. 1 search term for Google, Bing, and Yahoo. The lists of top 10 search terms also document Twitter's ascendancy in 2009—the micro-blogging service was the second most popular term on Bing and fourth on Google, InformationWeek reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Microsoft and Yahoo finally officially tied the knot today, with a 10-year deal to integrate their search and advertising businesses, MSNBC reports. It appears Microsoft won't pay Yahoo up front, which is probably a blow to Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, who promised she'd only join Microsoft for a "boatload of money." Instead they'll share ad revenue, and Microsoft will pay Yahoo a traffic acquisition fee. More»

Blame Google for the collapse of global financial architecture

(NEWSER) - Microsoft is thrashing Google in new TV spots for its "decision engine" Bing—understandably, since from Microsoft's perspective their rival is single-handedly responsible for the global financial crisis. "While everyone was searching, there was bailing," says an announcer, as images of fleeting Internet memes give way to frenzied traders and foreclosure signs. Apparently, writes Dan Neil in the Los Angeles Times, "the boys and girls at the Treasury were too busy downloading cute squirrel videos to notice the end of civilization." More»

Rewards part of effort to gain ground on market leader Google

(NEWSER) - Having largely abandoned its bid to buy, in the form of Yahoo, a significant presence in the Internet search business, Microsoft now will give customers money back when they buy items through its Live.com search portal, the Wall Street Journal reports. To be made official today, the move makes clear Microsoft isn't giving up on its search ambitions. More»

Company co-founder talks about the struggle to stay relevant

(NEWSER) - Being the CEO of Yahoo is no cakewalk, according to co-founder Jerry Yang, speaking yesterday at a conference in California, News.com reports. "It is a lonely job in the sense that you have to make some of the tough calls," Yang said of the job he finally took 13 years after co-founding the company. Among those tough decisions for Yang, since his ascension in June, has been how to deal with the dominance of Google. More»