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Bing, Hunch & The Next Big New One

I love Peg Palmer's comment in her recent post starting with "when my brain is on overload from too much information, relevant and irrelevant..."  Guess what? That's what I'm feeling now.

One one hand, it's totally awesome that technology gurus, web strategists, etc. are always coming up with bigger, better, newer tools to make us more efficient, rake in a different angle or break the mold where never broken before. The fact is, it's important...sooo important...to be aware of what's changing our online world. Everyday new things are going on that impact the way we work--or should impact the way we work for the better!

On the other hand, there will always be "the next big new one." 

And honestly, I like my Google. It works for me. In a nonprofit frame of mind, when something works well, I use it.  I like to explore new technologies, mind you, but there's only limited time in a day.

The real question for me is how I can continue to follow the latest and evolving Search Engine Optimization (SEO) trends so others can find my organization no matter what tool they use.  To that end, I want to share a few resources with you that have been helpful for me:

• Introduction to SEO by seo.grassroots.org

• SEO for the NPO, a webinar with slides available on SlideShare

• SEO and Social Media: 5 Essential Steps to Success from Mashable.com
  

• Wild Apricot's blog about a Free SEO helper tool for nonprofits (Warning: I haven't used it, but it's something you want to check out)

Any other great SEO resources for nonprofits? Let us know.

And I'm sorry for rebelling against by Hunch/ Bing commentary. This one is a little off topic. It's just a different angle and the truth of my search engine journey.

-Susie Bowie

Cyber rabbit hole?

Bing. Hunch. Yahoo. Google.  Ah, the choices.  With vacations and travel on my mind, Bing was a top contender for finding the best deals and presenting the options in a clear easy-to-follow way. On the other hand, Hunch would be the choice for odd but interesting soirees into self-understanding. Yahoo and google are like old friends. I know what to expect  from them and they do a good job at pointing me at the information I need. I appreciate that –because sometimes my mind gets too easily distracted and I lose my direction – how much more intriguing it is to fall through the looking glass and chase the white rabbit through cyber land, in search of…was it the best designer for my style? …the ideal book for my personality type? 

I have a Hunch that it wouldn’t be hard to get hooked.  It’s already pretty easy to get addicted to social media –  the temptation to check into Facebook every few hours is hard to resist.  Even though the nuggets of wisdom I glean may be few and far between, I feel connected, I have a sense of community on some level that is enough for me to endure aching shoulders, bleary eyes, and  hopefully not, but possibly, a  Hunch back from too many hours of on-line socializing and exploring this new media. 

When my brain is on overload from too much information, relevant and irrelevant, it’s conceivable and more than a little intriguing -- why not have a search engine that not only leads you to the answer and helps you decide what you want, and maybe even defines who you are? 

Posted by Peg Palmer

Is it better to Bing?

I had just begun to Bing when I learned about hunch.

Both Bing and hunch claim to be a "new search engine" that will make decisions for us.

(Bing was recently launched by Microsoft and hunch was founded by Caterina Fake, the co-founder of Flickr.)

I am intrigued. Can it work? Can a search engine make decisions for us?

So I tested both as well as Google with the same question or keyword. I used them just as I normally would. 

I learned that I don't often go to the internet wanting a decision - usually I just need straight-forward information. I also learned that if I want a search engine to make a decision, I need to phrase the question somewhat differently. I got a better handle on it after visiting hunch and seeing how simply they phrased the questions.  

So I posed my opening question to Google, Bing and hunch:

Can a search engine make decisions for us?

Bing responded with articles about making decisions for a "rockin" SEO campaign. The fifth article was about Microsoft's launch of BING and the 80,000 K advertising campaign. BING did not answer my question.

Google responded with two articles related to the question - both were trade pieces about the launch of Microsoft's BING. Google did not answer the question.

hunch rephrased the question: How can I decide what is the ethical thing to do? I liked the fact that they were prepared to tackle the ethical issue and so I continued to answer their questions of me. After 3 or 4 questions about how I would handle certain issues, they suggested that I use a utilitarian approach. That is, I consider  the consequences of actions in making a decision.

If I apply this to whether a search engine can make decisions, I would say that I will try it out and let the results speak for themselves. So hunch did not give me an answer but they told me an approach I could take that would make sense to me.

I have to say that hunch is growing on me. I like the layout, the clean, fresh style and even though they rephrase the questions and seem way off base, the decisions come back more useful than I would have thought.

But let's hear what your experiences are. Why don't you test the differences? Try out Google, Bing and hunch, toss Yahoo into the mix if you want, and let us know what happened on the CWC Facebook site  - go to the Central West Coast Chapter of the FPRA - or you can post a comment here. 

We'll be posting more about this on the blog as well.

Posted by Suzanne Dameron

Director of Emerging Communications