Some significant changes are coming out of the Bing team, making web searching a faster and more decision-oriented task. I was happy to see the recent design changes that made search results look far less cluttered. The removal of the left-most column’s related searches and other miscellaneous links making a huge difference to readability and focus (LTR readers, I’m sure, will agree). It now appears those changes were making way for social integration on the right-hand side of the page, with light hooks into the main search results (seeing what search results your friends have read and “liked”).

The friends and activities pane now give you direct access to ask friends questions in the context of the search/task and to see who may have more information. I don’t typically visit Facebook to stroll down feed-lane, but it is a convenient way to hear opinions from friends. The extra step of going to Facebook, explicitly, to solicit that feedback is a significant usage barrier for me. Direct integration into search makes it less jarring; there’s no need to move out of context anymore to ask those same questions. It’ll probably mean I use Facebook more, albeit indirectly.

For now, I only have the cleaned-up design, but the remainder of the functionality is expected to roll out over the coming weeks.

Old and busted (left), new and improved (right).

It’s difficult to get users to switch from something that’s pretty darned good (Google) to something that’s only marginally better. The behavioural barrier is simply too high, and not worthwhile, without a big shift in either quality or purpose. It has never been enough for Bing to compete head-to-head on relevancy (although that’s crucial, too), it needed to change the search game. Let’s see if the new Bing accomplishes that.

It’s been a long time coming, with the deluge of technology content that I “read” on a regular basis. Engadget, Gizmodo, Xbitlabs, The Verge, AnandTech, Neowin, Ars Technica, CNet, PocketNow, BGR; they all populated my feed reader. That’s not even mentioning the spiderweb of links that go from those sites, out. Most of the content is not original (meaning, a short blurb of largely personal opinion, followed by a link elsewhere). And more than that, the quality and integrity of most of the content was completely in the gutter.

When the primary goal is to increase the number of eyeballs on your publication, be it for ad revenues or something else, the only reason for any level of investigative integrity is to ensure readers don’t become completely disenchanted with nonsensical content (and sometimes that’s an attraction, in of  itself) and go elsewhere. Today, too much content is generated without the least bit of investigation, insight or integrity. A superficial scrape of the most obvious facts is then spun into a headline and content that is most likely to grab a reader’s attention, reality be damned. I’m tired of reading it all.

So, I spent some time migrating from a service that laid out extreme amounts of content well (Netvibes) to something that’s a bit more focused on reading (Google Reader) and cut back the number of subscribed feeds. Beyond that, I’ve also put an increased focus on some insightful, personal sites, where the content is less tainted by crazed pursuit of views. Here’s what’s in my reader now:

• The Verge
• AnandTech
• Ars Technica
• Rands in Repose
• Scott Hanselman
• ongoing by Tim Bray
• Yanko Design
• A List Apart
• Reuters Global Markets
• BBC

One category I’m trying to fill out is photography. Any ideas? I’d love a photo technique or C&C blog to follow.

Before I focus on Windows Phone development, I undertook a minor refresh of this site’s design. The refresh gives me the opportunity to highlight some additional content at the bottom of the page, and brightens the whole place up.

In the meantime, I’m still trying to wrap my head around how to apply the Metro style Principles and Personality to the site.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I’m on vacation this week. It’s the first of the year for me, and a needed break.

That said, I want to remain productive, just in a different direction, so I’ve installed the Windows Phone SDK, fired up MSDN and am ready to get my hands dirty on some basic apps to start.

Some of the most crucial aspects of developing for a new platform are the learning curve and the available tools. I’m not a developer by trade, but my Computer Engineering background provides me familiarity and comfort and sets me up for a quick ramp. I’ll keep a development diary of sorts, noting what makes sense, what doesn’t, and areas that can use some improvement.

And here I go.