Bing has announced it will be cozying up to Facebook in 2010; exclusively powering the web search results on the booming social network:
(from Bing Community Blog)
First, we have deepened our joint work together on web search to provide even more compelling experiences to Facebook users with Bing. As part of this expanded cooperation in search, our two companies will soon provide Facebook users with a more complete search experience by providing full access to great Bing features beyond a set of links, including richer answers combined with tools that help customers make faster, smarter decisions.
Second, we are extending our cooperation outside the US, bringing the Bing-Facebook search integration to the more than 400 million people using Facebook around the world.
Lastly, we made the mutual decision that Facebook would take over responsibility for selling display advertisements on its own site. We have been working together on advertising for a long time, creating the best experience for Facebook users and advertisers. Given the kinds of advertisements that make sense within a product as unique as Facebook, it just made more sense for them to take the lead on this part of their advertising strategy. MS will continue to provide search advertisements to Facebook.
In 2007, a press release went out saying that MSN was hooking up with then fairly new and budding Facebook:
Facebook and Microsoft Corp. today announced that Microsoft will take a $240 million equity stake in Facebook’s next round of financing at a $15 billion valuation, and the companies will expand their existing advertising partnership. Under the expanded strategic alliance, Microsoft will be the exclusive third-party advertising platform partner for Facebook, and will begin to sell advertising for Facebook internationally in addition to the United States.
Nick O’Neill from All Facebook speculated in 2008 that actually buying Facebook could be a great move for Microsoft:
It’s pretty obvious that Facebook will be one of the largest search engines if the majority of people searches are going through their site. Back in September I wrote about the site being one of the fastest growing search engines, and that trend continues. While the web industry has yet to figure out how to monetize people search effectively, it’s only a matter of time.
Facebook is poised to be the largest people search engine in the world. Google and Microsoft both know that and that’s why Microsoft has already placed their down payment. Will Facebook sell the company eventually? Perhaps they’ll hold off and wait for the IPO. My guess is that the two most popular technology companies founded by Havard dropouts will be tightly connected throughout the future.
That’s not happening, but MSN definitely sees the value of being the exclusive engine running search on the monster social network.