Bing is a nice service, but many might argue that it doesn’t have that much going for it when compared to search engine powerhouses like Google. In an effort to break out from its competition and try and offer something unique, the folks at Bing are implementing polls and quizzes into the search engine experience. These are meant to help better engage Bing users and bring them into a larger conversation so that they can weigh in on world news and pop culture events.
The changes are most immediately observable on the home page, where you’re given a three-question quiz each day pertaining to the photo in the background. If you hover over the graduation cap icon located on the home page, the multiple choice quiz will pop up and let you test your trivia skills. After you’re done with the quiz you can share your results on social media like Twitter and Facebook, challenging your friends to try it out on their own. In addition you can take a quiz on weekly trends, where you can test your memory of the week’s hot topics (located in the Popular Now section.)
If you prefer an even more community-focused way to engage with the news, the addition of polls is pretty exciting. With controversial news stories, you’ll now be able to answer polls to throw in your two cents about the issue. The polls also link to some more news stories that can give you valuable background information before you declare your position on the subject.
These new additions to Bing can potentially be a big deal – at least to the right people. News is one of the most important uses of the Internet. and the fact that Bing’s new features are meant to encourage users to pay more attention and do more background research on their news should be a good first step to better educating people.
There’s lots more information at the Microsoft blog post to check out. Let’s hope that this is just the first step in a series of additions to Bing, each aimed at engaging readers and making them think more about the information they consume each day.
