My initial reservation was that Bing just wasn’t that good at, well, searching. It’s billed as a decision engine, and it definitely slices and dices information in new, sometimes helpful ways, but before it helps me decide something, it should give me the best possible choices from which to decide. Yet it didn’t find the results I needed for pretty simple searches. For example, I wanted to know more about an information architecture company called EightShapes. Last week, a search for “eightshapes” in Bing pulled up lots of results on mathematical principles, but no company website. This lack of results was repeated with several other simple searches—so I switched back to Google, which gave me the EightShapes site as the top search item. Just for fun, check out Bing vs. Google to compare search results in each engine.

Today, however, if you search for EightShapes (or any of the other search items I tested) on either engine, you get roughly the same results. So, perhaps Bing, like HAL, is learning… The bottom line is that Bing gives you the ability to search text, images, video, news, maps, and shopping. So does Google. Bing helps shortcut your search by linking directly to specific pages within companies. So does Google. Bing provides sponsored links. So does Google. One nice feature that Bing has that Google doesn’t, however, is the ability to save and share search histories on Facebook and email.

Where Bing really excels, however, is by leveraging the awesome marketing power of Microsoft. The Redmond giant’s ability to develop and coordinate a truly impressive array of marketing and promotional campaigns is awe inspiring.

It’s not just the standard deals to make Bing the default browser on HP and Dell PCs and Verizon smart phones. Here in San Francisco, not one week after Bing launched, DJs on every Viacom-owned radio station in the city suddenly stopped using “Google” as a verb and began using “Bing.” As in, “We should Bing that to see if it’s true.” Coincidence? Probably not. And then there’s the Bing Cashback program, which rewards shoppers for purchasing products on Bing by giving them a percentage of the purchase price as cash. Sweet.

Is Bing a better search engine? The jury’s still out for me. Is Microsoft better at marketing and promoting the product? There’s no contest.

BRAVO

We are used to seeing plenty of sales and marketing “oomph” packaged into official product sites, and Microsoft’s Internet presence for Xbox is no exception. Gamers can salivate over the comprehensive information sections awarded to each of the console’s many accessories. The devices all receive their own separate profile page that lists specifications, shows alternate colorations, and links back to articles detailing how each accessory can be used.

The console’s bevy of games receives similar treatment. They’re split up into a number of classifications, from downloadable Arcade games, to upcoming titles, to games themed for a family living room. Each title’s “home page” receives a different level of artistic treatment depending on the game’s notability. An accompanying specification box lists each game’s tangible features and requirements in a style that’s identical across the entire Xbox domain. This gives readers a chance to quickly scan the page and identify the important elements no matter what game they’re looking at on the site.

TRY AGAIN

Microsoft’s official Xbox site suffers from a confusing lack of information when you need it and an overabundance of information that hurts the organization of the site. We’ll start with the former. The front page completely overlooks the site’s most compelling feature: it’s frequency of updates. Flash-based feature content is more an advertisement for the Xbox’s core features than showcases for new content. And the paltry “top stories” navigational element is woefully underutilized given just how many new elements appear on the site on a weekly basis. How about a comprehensive news ticker that details the site’s newest offerings, the console’s latest games, and the community’s most recent updates? A little Web 2.0 interactivity wouldn’t hurt either.

Beyond that, there are simply too many options for a user to choose for the actual sections of content on the site. For example, the site’s Accessories section is broken into seven different subsections: Accessories Front Page, Wireless, Xbox Live, Catalog, Entertainment, Cables, and Family Fun. What makes an accessory “family fun?” Why does Entertainment not relate to Accessories, but to the Xbox’s media streaming capabilities? Why does Cables receive a distinguishing section of its own? It’s a confusing mess.

The site’s Community section suffers from a similar amount of information overload. For example, each Xbox game has a separate message board for users to chat on. Instead of organizing these in any coherent fashion—by year of release, by genre, alphabetically—Microsoft merely slaps each new title into an all-encompassing “Games” section. It’s an ever-expanding list that grows more unwieldy as new games join the Xbox family. Why scroll for an eternity just to check out all the latest commentary about Rock Band 2?

As a whole, Microsoft would do well to exhibit restraint across its site. Organize. Combine. Simplify. There’s a wealth of information available, but the critical details get lost amidst the clutter. There’s gold in what Xbox has as an online presence. Don’t make users have to hack their way through a jungle of words to get to it. Save that for the games.