Very strange name for a service that has struggled from the beginning. I somehow don't think a name change will do much to improve Microsoft's search standings compared to Google. But, I do have to laud Microsoft for staying in the game.
Yes, “Live Search” was a mistake. Ever heard anyone say “I'm going to Live this?” Nope, neither have I. Somehow I don't think “binging” is going to join the pages of Webster's any time soon either, but at least Microsoft recognized that “Live Search” sounds too “corporate” and, yes, “dead”. Bing may be a bit off the wall—but so was “Twitter” and “Flickr”.
After a failure as large as Microsoft search most companies would have either thrown in the towel or buried their heads in the sand and declared that everything was just fine (while quietly letting the product die). By renaming their search service Microsoft is showing some real strength. Renaming is tantamount to admitting failure and most companies aren't brave enough to do that.
The question is—will this just be a marketing campaign? Will their technical guys blindly keep following the "safe" and empty path that Google has smashed down in front of them? Or will they actually hack out some innovations? The recent success of StackOverflow.com in a field very close to search is proof that innovations in search are still out there ready to be exploited--if Microsoft has the guts and vision to do it.
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