Google and Microsoft have been battling over search results for quite sometime now. Google accuses Microsoft of stealing its search results for Bing. Microsoft says it doesn’t steal Google results. A lot of discussion ensues—most of it comical. The main thing to take away from this battle however is that Bing matters.
There’s no way Google would care how its public results were being used if it wasn’t concerned about Bing. Now the Google vs. Microsoft spat is extremely public, slightly entertaining and makes for great headlines. One of the biggest issue with this whole battle is that it’s a bit fuzzy where the inspiration started and where the theft began. But Google’s accusations and Microsoft’s denials and explanations are certainly notable. After all, this is the tech industry, a place where everyone builds on the ideas of someone else in some cases you could even say copied.
Here are just a few ideas that have been replicated over the years:
* Google’s business model came from Overture.
* Google’s Android army is arguably a rip off and attempted enhancement of Apple’s iPhone.
* Microsoft’s Windows franchise was born as an answer to Apple’s Mac to most. The reality is both Microsoft and Apple got their inspiration from PARC from Xerox. Both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs went to PARC and got inspired to copy a UI (User Interface).
* Google has a multitude of social experiments that look like Facebook and Twitter imitations.
* Isn’t Google Docs inspired by MS Office?
* Microsoft’s Xbox is the result of the Sony PlayStation success.
* Zune is an iPod replication.
* Microsoft’s Office got its start by emulating the likes of WordPerfect and Lotus Notes.
* Internet Explorer was an answer to Netscape’s Navigator.
Funny how that works, don’t you think? But that’s the tech industry. Most likely, Bing is going to emulate Google results. Google is the top search engine on the web at the moment. So what we take from this is that no matter how hard you try someone will always be around take your idea and mold it some how to their benefit. It just looks like Google is going to have to come up with new stuff to keep Bing at bay.
