Microsoft and Twitter are rekindling their relationship and telling the world about it on Twitter. Bing has chosen to renew their deal with Twitter, and the two companies announced the news via flirted messages back and forth in a casual conversation.
Two years ago, Bing announced the need to be able to index the real time web. Since then, Twitter has exploded to over 175 million users and has become a major source of news and information.
In July, Google chose to drop Twitter and its realtime search product leaving others speculating if Bing would continue its partnership. At one point, the rumor mill had Twitter asking up to $30 million for one year of access to data streams. As of last night, speculation has become clarification.
If you’re looking for an official announcement from Bing, you won’t find one. However, Bing has confirmed they have extended their agreement with Twitter.
Stefan Weitz, Director of Bing, told
Search Engine Watch, “we are excited enough about the value of the data they have to be willing to extend the deal.”
When asked about the lack of announcement, Weitz said not only was it “more apropos,” but also that Bing “thought it would be more fun to do it via Twitter.”
Last month, Google announced Google Realtime search will return with Google+ replacing Twitter. While Bing Social search gives you the ability to search Twitter and Bing Maps allows you to see tweets by location, there is still no true integration into the main Bing search results pages.
Microsoft has shown they are serious about leveraging Twitter’s data feed. All things considered, be on the lookout for something innovative from Bing that will try to topple Google’s planned re-release of realtime search. Whatever developments come from this, Search Engine Watch will bring it to you here.
Will the continued relationship between Bing and Twitter make you more apt to use Bing? Let us know in the comments!