Microsoft Patenting Celebrity-Shaped Bing'ing

theodp writes "GeekWire reports that Microsoft is seeking a patent on the concept of applying the persona of a celebrity to Internet searches, allowing people to see search results shaped by the personalities and preferences of Hollywood celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Megan Fox, and Jessica Lange. A search for an evening dress using the persona of Jessica Lange, explains Microsoft, would return dresses that reflect the actress's 'style and/or fashion preferences,' including 'color, fit, designer, cut, etc.' Your move, Google."

Comments

Lets me guess, Paris Hilton returns..

[WarwickRyan]

..nothing?

Re:Lets me guess, Paris Hilton returns..

[Ihmhi]

A search for Paris Hilton automatically opens your e-mail program and fills in your father's e-mail address so you can ask daddy for money.

Woooooooooow

[Moheeheeko]

People USE Bing?

Re:Woooooooooow

[corbettw]

Let me guess, you don't even own a TV?

Re:Woooooooooow

[Loosifur]

...and was brought back on CBS last year. Damn, man, couldn't get cable under that rock, huh?

Google's move

[Anonymous Coward]

Google's move? I'm pretty sure it'll be a bewildered gaze followed by a light chuckle.

Re:Google's move

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes. This.

Unless Microsoft is getting a April Fool's joke in reeeeeally early, TFA represents one of the most retarded ideas I've heard in a long, long time.

Re:Google's move

[hardtofindanick]

Yes, you mean like the time when google also started showing full size background images like bing.

Or the right side summary bar.

I think Google takes Bing more seriously than people think. I dont blame them since Bing is the only potential competitor.

Re:Microsoft? Innovating on searching???

[ackthpt]

Beats the hell out of copying Google's results.

Soon to be followed by a patent on searching for LOLCat pix. Clearly Microsoft are scraping at the bottom of the barrel with bloody fingers.

Search for ...

[PPH]

... original ideas as Steve Ballmer.

Racing to the bottom makes money

[UnoriginalBoringNick]

Although the average slashdot reader probably has difficulty imagining anyone dumb enough to want to use this service, I guess every click from those who do must be like pure gold to the advertisers.

Re:Microsoft? Innovating on searching???

[Gadget_Guy]

Beats the hell out of copying Google's results.

Actually, Bing did bring some new ideas to the table that Google managed to borrow. For a while I used Google for my text searches and Bing for image searches because of extra features that Bing had. Google has all those features now so I stick with Google for everything again.

More importantly for this story, this shows that patents can actually be used properly for good reasons. I have long been a critic of patents, but I think that Microsoft deserves some credit in this case. They have done an excellent job in patenting this concept to ensure that such a stupid idea will never be seen in public again.

It is possible that Bing will implement it, but I think that counts as not being seen in public.

Searching as Clint Eastwood

[billstewart]

[] Do you feel lucky, punk?