Microsoft No Twit in Pushing Bing Out Front

Oh, I do think Microsoft is getting what the Web and social networking is all about. Well at least some part of it.

Let's face it: Narcissism rules when it comes to Web activity, and the bulb of recognition went off big and bright in Redmond apparently given the Windows OS maker has added Twitter search results to its new search engine Bing.

According to LiveSide early this morning, Microsoft is indexing a wee bit of Twitterers to its Bing search pull.

Yup, you read that right.

Microsoft is actually a bit out front on pushing Bing into Google territory with a little help from those thousands of Twits who view Twitter as a claim to fame and notoriety these days.

The move was formally announced by Microsoft late yesterday on its Bing blog.

"There has been much discussion of real-time search and the premium on immediacy of data that has been created primarily by Twitter. We’ve been watching this phenomenon with great interest, and listening carefully to what consumers really want in this space. Today we’re unveiling an initial foray into integrating more real time data into our search results, starting with some of the more prominent and prolific Twitterers from a variety of spheres. This includes Tweets from folks from our own search technology and business sphere like Danny Sullivan or Kara Swisher as well as those from spheres of more general consumer appeal like Al Gore or Ryan Seacrest."

OK, well the Ryan Seacrest inclusion is a bit of a head scratcher, but then again there's no denying the millions of American Idol fans are a big pool of potential Bing fans.

All it takes to find out if your favorite Twit, or even your own Tweets, show up on Bing is to type in the name and word 'Twitter,' or just @XYNKK.

Since the inception of the micro-blogging tool, the quest to be "followed" and read daily and quoted by tech visionaries and media luminaries and viewed as the next great online "voice of what's all powerful in the world" has been going strong.

For Microsoft to add limited Twitter searches — something even Twitter hasn't really done much advance work on — is a tremendous boost. Let's face it. Every Twit user is going to hit Bing and check out if they show up.

What does that mean for Microsoft? Billions of page views, lots of Tweets, and very likely, a successful move in converting IE and Opera and other browser users to using Bing.

Someone, a very long time ago, once made this declarative sentence about what it takes to succeed in the Internet: lots and lots of eyeballs. And while success does not only mean grabbing attention but keeping it, the big challenge Microsoft faces in making Bing a worthy Google opponent is getting Googlers and IE users and others to at least step on over and check out Bing.

This little Twitter move has potential to do all that and more.