Feedback from MSN Search Bar Pre-population
Some interesting feedback from MSN about the pre-population of their search bar that they tested last week.
"Your comments on the initiative were pretty unequivocal - 'Every time I log in, 'The Apprentice BBC' is in my search box. Not very clever and very annoying... Just as bad as SPAM' said one user, whilst other critics used the phrases 'absolute disgrace' 'very annoying' and 'unwanted marketing' when describing the move. The negative feedback, combined with the click statistics which showed that the move wasn't working from a usage point of view, meant that we acted quickly and put an end to the experiment just a couple of days after it had begun. "
- Y! MyWeb
Hey, at least they both
Hey, at least they both requested, and paid attention to, user feedback. If only the rest of MS could learn that lesson, eh?
I thought the concept was
I thought the concept was pretty good - just the implementation sucked. Pre-populating *some* area near the search box with popular / trend searches might work out OK.
Credit where it's due
Full marks to MS for a) trying something different and b) being candid about the poor results.
hear hear QN. Top marks for
hear hear QN.
Top marks for MSN on both those points.