It may sound kind of silly, but when I talk to people outside of the tech world about Bing, the first thing brought up is usually how they like the pictures. And now Microsoft has created a contest on Facebook to let one user get their own picture featured on Bing.
The Bing Summer Travel Photo Contest is asking Facebook users to submit their best summer vacation photos. The community will then vote on them, and the winner will get its day in the sun, so to speak, on Monday, August 3 — appearing to the millions who visit Bing on that day.
Naturally, there are some rules for these photos as Microsoft probably doesn’t want kickass keg party pictures on the Bing homepage. Obviously, no alcohol, smoking, guns, violence or nudity will be allowed. But Microsoft also doesn’t want any pictures with recognizable people or any third party trademarked images, so they don’t get sued. Here’s what they are looking for:
* The image should make you want to find out more about it.
* The image should draw you in and be a starting place for exploring Bing
* The subject of the photo must provide enough interest to program all the content that we use to support that exploration.
* Strive for subtlety and poetry. You shouldn’t have to know that it’s Halloween, Columbus Day, or Boss’s Day to enjoy the photo.
In a blog post on the matter, Microsoft also lays out how it goes about choosing the images it uses on Bing. “The images are chosen from a variety of licensed photos with the goal of inspiring a sense of exploration and delight while piquing your interest to learn more.”
Bing, the decision engine, for humans.
More and more I view them as a serious threat to Google search.
I agree with you Ivan. It was high time that someone, even it its MS, came to give some competition to google.
I am also noticing that bing is giving better results than google which was not the case 3 weeks back when it was giving similar results. This makes me believe that there is something more to bing than meets the eye.
Am I the only person who doesn’t like the photos?
You de only one Leon. EVERYONE else loves every picture Bing ever displayed.
No, you’re NOT the only one. The photos don’t do anything for me either and they distract from what I went there to do.
The photo today is beautiful (unlike many have been); however, it doesn’t have anything to do with searching.
I am a wordsmith and not an image person so that may affect my opinion.
If you really find them distracting, you can turn them off by putting in this link to disable the background images: http://www.bing.com/?rb=0
Personally, I enjoy them very much.
Forgot to mention that to turn the images back on, just change the 0 to a 1
Thanks for the tip!
Yes…I just love them. Get to see and know about a new place every day. Also the concept of post load is cool…Mainly for slow connections you can get the page upload with the search bar w/o the picture…
bings photos are a nice touch and better to look at than googles white blinding screen
I’m on the other side of the fence, I like google because of its simplicity. Seems like the white space really puts the search results and search terms front and center.
Yes, I like the simple view as well. Otherwise it becomes somewhat annoying.
I guess they are not aiming for people that have enough free time on their hands.
Some terms of the contest:
“By submitting your photograph you grant Microsoft Corporation and its affiliates (collectively, “Microsoft”) an unlimited, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, nonexclusive right and license to use, reproduce, publish, modify, perform and display the image on the bing.com webpage or any replacement or successor to such web page, and in any marketing or advertising of any kind related thereto, in any medium now known or later developed.
Microsoft will not pay you any compensation for your photograph or any use we may make of it.”
So basically they can use it however they want, wherever they want and whenever they want. They can also change it as much as they want. Print it on marketing materials, distribute with the Windows O/S or even feature it in a commercial. And after doing all of that, you can never get paid by them for it.
That said, I wont be submitting mine!
crowdsourcing here I come!!!
still a million people will submit, MS will filter 100s and will use them to make money
awesome business model
We have been submitting AAfter toolbar to IE Add-ons Gallery for last few months. They are rejecting it without giving any reason.
The AAfter toolbar is already reviewed by CNET that it is spyware free.
They do not even care to give us a reason wasting our time, their time. I hope they will learn someday to improve their public relation contacts otherwise people will reject anything Microsoft as much as they can.
Hope this photo thing will not be another way for them to make some more people unhappy.
The fact that your picture might be selected and if selected will be viewed by millions of people around the world (with recognition of that – check the small copyright symbol at the bottom left hand corner of each picture) should be enough of a payment.
Millions of photographers will submit pictures for those bragging rights.
The problem with this contest (and so many others) is that they claim rights to the submissions and not just the winners. If it were only rights to the winner(s), that would be fine, but this is what is commonly called a “rights grab” in photographer circles.
You guys don’t seem like an unbiased group. You are clearly anti-Microsoft, pro-Google, pro-Twitter, etc.. Your biased view shows so clearly..
Welcome to Tech Crunch – although I must admit that this is one of the few posts about Microsoft that is neither negative nor is it positive. It is actually straight reporting.
How exactly is this anti-microsoft?
I wouldn’t say they’re biased. They do seem to focus a lot of their energy on writing Twitter, Google and Apple stories.
I was so in until the keg stand photos were ruled out.
Same.
Interesting campaign. Would like to see how many submissions they are able to get.
Smart move by Microsoft. Using Facebook’s popularity to promote Bing.
I like the Photos, I like the search results, so far three weeks with Bing and happy, I switch back to Google just to compare and I find out that in most cases Bing and Google are dead even.
I love the pictures, but hardly see them as I always Google Bing from my Google bar in Chrome.
A bit strange that they want the photo for free, as the ones they normally use come from stock image agencies and are presumably not free images.
Photostock–you just answered your own question. Why pay for stock photos when they can run a contest AND grab the rights to any of the submissions for free?
Save money AND get all that PR …sounds like a win-win for them given how few people bother to read (or fail to understand) TOUS &/or contest rules.
Yet again Microsoft are imposing their attitude towards nudity on the rest of the world. Attitudes have consequences and it is not coincidence that a teenager in the most prudish western countries is ten times more likely to become pregnant or to have an abortion than a teenager in countries where body shame is less rampant. The harm is widespread and some is serious. A teenager in the USA is over seventy times more likely to catch gonorrhea than a teenager in Denmark. Attitudes have consequences but there is incredible reluctance to face up to the implications. Which is more important to Mircrosoft, prejudice or substantial harm to children and young people.
I LOVE BING ..!!
I love the Bing photos, and I am stunned by their beuty, but I do have to agree with Malcolm Boura, the fear, shame and embarrassment that Americans feal towards nudity and sex has got to end.
In Britain, one of the most prudish nations, a NHS leaflet is advising kids that they have a right to an enjoyable sex life, it compares sex with the importance of eating fruit and vegetables every day and enourages masturbation as well.
Contrast that with Sarah Palin’s abstinence only education (which didn’t work so well in her own family).
Speaking of Facebook and Bing: When did Facebook start integrating Bing into search results? There are “Bing powered” results available now.