A Sneak Peek Look at Microsoft’s New Kumo: A Spidery Cloud? A Cloudy Spider?
by Kara Swisher
Posted on March 2, 2009 at 5:07 PM PT
Here below are three screenshots of Microsoft’s internal test of a new search product called Kumo.
The long expected upgrade to the Live Search product from Microsoft (MSFT) is being tested for a public rollout later this year.
The blogosphere was a-twitter, literally, after a Twitter post by Powerset co-founder Barney Pell this past weekend, about a rebranding and updating of the search offering. (Microsoft acquired Powerset last year and Pell works on search strategy.)
Sources at Microsoft said the company has not yet decided whether it will keep the Kumo name, which sounds a little too much like that crazy dog from the Stephen King novel.
Maybe that’s the point, at least related to Google. (Chomp!)
In Japanese, actually, Kumo has two definitions–cloud and spider.
Microsoft has been trying to catch up in the search game by spending big-time after it failed to acquire Yahoo (YHOO) last year.
And it still wants to do a search deal with Yahoo, in order to make a dent in the market dominance of Google (GOOG).
Until then, of course, Microsoft must innovate. And, so far, Kumo seems to be an interesting effort with a clean and spare look.
But what do you think? Let me know in the comments.
Also, here is the memo from Microsoft search head Satya Nadella about it, urging all company employees to try it out and send feedback:
From: Satya Nadella
Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 4:18 PM
To: Microsoft–All Employees (QBDG)
Subject: Announcement: Internal Search Test ExperienceThe Search team needs you. We’ve been working hard to improve our search service and want to share the progress we are making with you. We are launching a new test program called kumo.com for employees to try and provide feedback. Kumo.com exists only inside the corporate network, and in order to get enough feedback we will be redirecting internal live.com traffic over to the test site in the coming days. Kumo is the codename we have chosen for the internal test.
In spite of the progress made by search engines, 40% of queries go unanswered; half of queries are about searchers returning to previous tasks; and 46% of search sessions are longer than 20 minutes. These and many other learnings suggest that customers often don’t find what they need from search today.
We believe we can provide a better and more useful search experience that helps you not just search but accomplish tasks. During the test, features will vary by country, but you’ll see results organized in a way that saves you more time. An explorer pane on the left side of results pages will give you access to tools that help you with your tasks. Other features like single session history and hover preview help accomplish more in search sessions.
Your Next Search…
To get started, visit kumo.com or click one of the samples below to see how it’s possible to find the right results more easily:
· Audi S8
· Taylor Swift
. Bose Lifestyle 48You can also set your search defaults to test site using the instructions here.
Your Feedback is Critical
As employees, you are some of our most informed users and our toughest critics, and we highly value your input and feedback to help us build a better service. You have been an important voice in our efforts, and the feedback you’ve sent us since the company meeting has been amazing.
When you visit kumo.com, at the bottom right corner of the each page you’ll see a feedback badge. We ask that each time you use the test site, click the feedback badge and take a moment to answer four quick and simple questions. Feel free to reach out to give us extra feedback directly on our blog and by mailing sfeed. For answers to common questions make sure to see our FAQ.
We are committed to rapid innovation and improvement. Please give the test site a try, rate the results and let us know what you think.
Satya
Here are the three screenshots too (click on the images twice to make them larger):
Taylor Swift
Audi S8
Bose Lifestyle 48
Comments
Like the left nav elements a lot, after 3d screenshot felt great about the related links there. I think this left column adds some credence to the right nav/sponsored links. Seems organic to present in this 3-col fashion with bookends as value around organic.
I may have been unduly enamored with the example of a $96,000 car. How 2008!
Posted by sue heilbronner at March 2nd, 2009 at 6:26 pmNice, looks a bit like http://www.clusty.com, but it will be nice with a rival to google.
Posted by Søren Hartmann Kristensen at March 3rd, 2009 at 7:03 amReminds me of Ask.com, which hasn’t exactly won the search engine wars.
Posted by David Berkowitz at March 3rd, 2009 at 8:30 amI wonder what the user gets if they click “enhanced view” for the wiki listing for Audi. It should also be interesting to the impact of the “mark as spam” link.
Posted by Anne Hennegar at March 3rd, 2009 at 8:48 amkumo is live.com with lipstick on … from the screenshot it doesn’t appear to be a game changer
the game changer is the only way to beat google
google beat altavista and yahoo by changing the game
Posted by Sam Harrison at March 3rd, 2009 at 2:14 pmA long standing problem with keyword search has been context – what exactly is the user searching for. This can often be ambiguous – for example what if the search query uses a homonym?
How can the search engine know what sub set of data the user wishes to see if the keyword query is too short to detect the right context? I think both Ask.com and Live/Kumo address this issue nicely. We can clearly see the search results in silos based on subsets of results; with the left navigation in place this makes narrowing your search a breeze.
If MSN can just get their scalability right and offer relevant results that genuinely compete with Google then there is the real chance of some competition in search – good for everyone!
Posted by Cass Heaphy at May 7th, 2009 at 4:55 amI work for Microsoft’s Volume Licensing division in Reno, Nevada, and I use kumo.com there for all my searching needs.
First of all, the kumo main page, looks great. It seems the focus on that is destinations at this point. The background of the page is a beautiful snapshot of a beautiful location. There are little interactive squares inside the photograph that give you more information. Above that is the Kumo search bar.
I have to say, it’s as relevant as Google, in my opinion. You may call it “Google with lipstick” if you wish, but it’s some very eye catching lipstick. I’ve done side by side searches on a few occasions, and Kumo allows for more listings generally more information in one page than Google or Y! or anywhere else for that matter. It really makes use of the space given on the page. The three columns is a great feature, as more information is able to be more spread out. I’ll go ahead and see about obtaining a few screen shots of the home page and the map page and a few more just to give you an idea of what’s to come. I can say this: Google is great, but with Kumo on the way, they need to step the game up a little more.
That’s all for now. Laters.
PS. I’ve always been a big fan of Google. I work for MS, yes, but I’m in no way biased to the company. They just pay really well.
Posted by Max Higgins at May 13th, 2009 at 5:25 pm