101gamzer
Ambassador of Buzz
The holiday season is here again and it’s not only family get-togethers that become contentious, big software companies can’t resist either. Microsoft has just launched a campaign called ‘Don’t get Scroogled’, that takes aim squarely at Google Shopping.
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Microsoft claims that when users search for products through Google’s shopping-only section, results shown will be skewered in favour of retailers who have paid Google to be there. This means that some retailers who cannot afford to pay will not be displayed even if their products are better or cheaper for the consumer. Microsoft doesn’t want you to get ‘scroogled’ by Google’s evil ‘pay-to-rank’ system.
So, use Bing instead.
In a press release, Microsoft contends, “Bing won’t let who pays us for ads or other services affect what you see in your shopping search results. Search results are one thing; ads are another. We won’t switch to pay-to-rank to allow fees to influence the ranking of shopping search results. In short, we think that too many shoppers who use Google for their shopping are getting “Scroogled” when they should be getting fair, honest, open search results.”
A Bing blog post goes further, “In the beginning, Google preached, “Don’t be evil”—but that changed on May 31, 2012. That’s when Google Shopping announced a new initiative. Simply put, all of their shopping results are now paid ads.”
Ouch.
Shoppers are advised to visit the ‘Scroogled‘ website (a very weird looking one, this writer would like to add) and even watch a video to learn more about how to avoid being screwed by Google.
SOURCE
Visit THE ONE AND ONLY SCROOGLED SITE Have you been Scroogled? Try Bing—we don't limit your shopping choices.