Microsoft Will Unveil New Search - But Will Anyone Care?

Kumo! Kumo! Kumo! Sounds like some kind of an oriental war chant. But in reality it is Microsoft’s latest bid to try and increase their search share on the Internet. Next week it is expected that Steve Ballmer will appear on stage at the All Things Digital conference, to introduce to the world their latest search engine.

The latest search stats show that Google is holding about 64% market share and Microsoft around 8%. Some have mentioned that Microsoft needs to expand their market share but the reasoning remains blurred. During the past year or so the Microsoft-Yahoo affair grabbed headlines but nothing happened.

I guess I don’t completely get the reasoning behind why Microsoft feels a necessity to continue trying to grab more of the search market. Their bread and butter has been Windows and Office. In the operating system market Microsoft commands about a 90% share. Though their share of the browser market has slipped some, Microsoft is still the leader of choice in this category as well.

So I have a question for you. Why is it so important to Microsoft to take on search? To me it would be like Boeing making microwave ovens because they want to compete with G.E.

Bottom line: Will Microsoft be able to really build a better search ‘mouse trap?’

Comments as always are welcome.