By Will

I’m a geek and proud of it. So to meet the needs of my nerd stereotype I read a lot of tech blogs - props to Techcrunch, ReadWriteWeb, Engadget, Gizmodo who deal in some fine technology news and acerbic wit to boot. Like most technofiles I followed the stories last year about Microsoft in a bid to buy Yahoo (affectionately dubbed Microhoo…) to increase their search capability in an attempt to topple the mighty G. Also followed the drama as Microsoft walked away from the deal when the Yahoo board balked at Moneysofts huge take over offer ($45 billion is just not enough don’t you think). Then earlier this year, when you thought Microsoft had given up the search ghost, puffs of smoke from the Internet volcano hinted that Microsoft still had “search” in their cross hairs. All this culminated in a definitive statement from Microsoft last week - we’re still in the game, bing it on (spent literally minutes thinking of that punchy line!).

With the launch of Microsoft’s new search engine (ahem..sorry “decision engine”) Bing,  they’ve firmly thrown their hat in the ring once more, with confidence and purpose. Watching the back and forth between these two Internet giants genuinely has me excited - not just because it appeals to my inner nerdling, but because I couldn’t help but see some nice little life lessons in the midst of “Search Wars: Microsoft Strikes Back”.

Persistence
Love him or hate him, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s tenacity has to be admired. The evolutionary cycle of the Internet is short. You can go from hero to zero and back again in days (Susan Boyle anyone…). Google has managed, in a very short period of time in industry terms, to move from being a noun to a verb - people “Google” things. Google has become synonymous with search. And what’s more they’ve maintained their dominance very consistently. So taking them on up front in the search game is ballsy. Making people convert from Google is a bit like convincing people to trade their iPod for an 8 track.  This is the third time Microsoft have tried to take on Google and most people would be giving up at this stage. Ballmer said earlier this year at the D7 Conference while “there is no way to change the whole game in one step,”search engines “deserves a good feature war.” That’s persistence (or convincing evidence Ballmer is a zealot).

Innovation Rules!
Google is the king of innovation. Search, Email, Maps, Browsers - these are Internet features that exisited long before Google stepped it’s toes in the water. The difference is that Google was progressive. They changed how we search, gave us limitless inboxes with stacked/conversation like email and gave us maps with 360 degree street views. Microsoft had all three of those services in its armory 10 years ago, but didn’t innovate like Google did. And so they lost out big time. You’ve got to look at things in new ways and in new angles all the time to stay ahead of the game. Which brings me nicely to another point.

No one is untouchable
Something strange happened when Microsoft launched Bing. People acutally liked it. Bloggers started admitting it wasn’t bad and dare I say it…good. Tieing back to the point above, Microsoft have started to win some fans because they started to innovate with features. They’ve included a nice little video preview system in their search engine. They’ve tightly integrated their ability to provide flight and booking information as part of their offering. They’ve added some features that apparently have Google getting flustered. Google forgot one simple thing - never rest on your laurels. It was the fatal mistake that Microsoft made in the 90s that cost them their Internet presence. And just like those before, Google have been complancent about staying on top. They let their search engine rest for a bit and in doing so let Microsoft peer over the trench.