Tag Archives: search engine news

Search Engine News: Now You Can Search for Facebook Photos Using Bing’s Social Sidebar

Last Updated On June 1st, 2023Search Engine News, , , , , , , , ,

Bing recently added a feature that allows users to search for photos shared by Facebook friends using the search engine. This feature is an expansion of the social sidebar Bing launched in May that integrated Facebook into the search results.

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Bing Social Sidebar (Facebook integration)

Now friends’ photos relevant to your search query appear in the social sidebar along with other results. When a friend’s photo pops up, you are able to click on it and browse that entire photo album on Bing. The Bing Friends’ Photos landing page also allows you to see all your friends’ photos on one page (the format looks very similar to Pinterest). You can also see your own albums and photos you’re tagged in with comments and “likes” in the sidebar. Users can also comment, “like” and share the photos directly from Bing.

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Bing Friend's Photos landing page

The new Facebook photo sharing on Bing will let you keep up with your friends’ photos that you otherwise may have missed on Facebook. Does Bing’s new integration with Facebook encourage you to ditch Google as your go-to search engine?

Google Updates Its Search Algorithm to Punish Copyright Violators

Last Updated On August 13th, 2014Search Engine News, , , , , , , ,

google piracy updateGoogle recently updated its search algorithm to take into consideration the number of valid copyright removal notices it receives for any given site. Websites with high numbers of removal notices may appear lower in Google results, according to a post by Amit Singhal, Google’s Vice President of Engineering, in the Official Google Blog. The update is meant to help users find legitimate, quality content when searching on Google rather than pirated, copyright violations.

This algorithm change follows heavy criticism Google has been receiving from the entertainment industry about copyright infringement.

According to the blog, Google re-booted its copyright removals two years ago and is now getting more data from copyright owners about infringement online. Google plans to use this data in its search rankings from now on. The blog points out that although the changes to the algorithm will influence the ranking of some search results, Google will not remove any pages from the results unless it receives a valid copyright removal notice from the rights owner.

“Only copyright owners know if something is authorized and only courts can decide if a copyright has been infringed. Google cannot determine whether a particular webpage does or does not violate copyright law,” wrote Singhal.

What do you think of the new algorithm update?

Mayer Announces Yahoo May Keep $4 Billion It Will Get for Selling its Stake in Alibaba

Last Updated On August 13th, 2014Search Engine News, , , , , , , ,

marissa mayer yahoo.gi .topAccording to Business Insider, Yahoo! CEO, Marissa Mayer, recently warned shareholders that she might not return the $4 billion Yahoo is going to get selling its stake in Chinese Internet company, Alibaba.

The original plans included returning the after-tax money to shareholders. However, according to an SEC filing, Mayer is currently reviewing the plans for the money, which may lead to changes to the current plans:

“On July 17, 2012, Marissa Mayer became the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Yahoo! Inc. (the “Company”). As reported in our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2012 filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms. Mayer is engaging in a review of the Company’s business strategy to enhance long term shareholder value. As part of that review, Ms. Mayer intends to review with the Board of Directors, among other things, the Company’s growth and acquisition strategy, the restructuring plan we began implementing in the second quarter of 2012, and the Company’s cash position and planned capital allocation strategy. This review process may lead to a reevaluation of, or changes to, our current plans, including our restructuring plan, our share repurchase program, and our previously announced plans for returning to shareholders substantially all of the after tax cash proceeds of the initial share repurchase under the Share Repurchase and Preference Share Sale Agreement we entered into on May 20, 2012 with Alibaba Group Holding Limited.”

Mayer’s move suggests that she plans to use the money toward something that will help breathe new life into the company. Perhaps buying a start up that will help with their social, local, mobile efforts. What do you think?