In an announcement made by Microsoft Friday, Bing's integration with Facebook has been expanded and it now allows users to like or comment on friends' posts on its right-hand social sidebar.
Microsoft brings added features to its Bing search engine sidebar, which will allow users to like or comment on friends' Facebook posts without leaving the search result page. In an effort to enhance the Bing website, Microsoft has been making some changes in the recent months to bring ease of access to all its users. The latest update to the sidebar comes after Bing expanded its Center Column to incorporate more social information about celebs, professional LinkedIn details, landmark details and personal friends' information from Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Google+, based on user's query.
In March, Bing was updated to include data from social networking sites on the right hand side Social Sidebar based on searched queries, but if users wanted to comment on or like any status, they would be redirected to the original post on Facebook. But that has changed now after the latest Microsoft update on Bing which gives users access to all the information on the search page and allows one to "like" or "comment" on the Facebook status without leaving the page. Quite convenient for users as they won't have to toggle between different screens when in the middle of an operation.
For example: If users are searching for Beyonce Tour Dates or details on buying tickets, besides the list of search results from the web, information about any Facebook friend either going to the concert or having an extra ticket will appear on the Sidebar. Just like in web search, there is no time restriction of how old the related information is, Facebook posts appearing on the Sidebar will also have no such restriction.
"If you're like us, it's hard to keep up with what friends are posting on an ongoing basis, and harder still to search and find specific topics that your friends may have posted about," Nektarios Ioannides, Bing Program Manager, wrote in a blog post Friday. "By bringing together Bing and Facebook, you have an easy way to complement your search with helpful, interesting or insightful content your friends have shared."
In order to experience the latest update, users must have their Facebook accounts logged in and connected with Bing. Users can find the option to connect Facebook to Bing on the top right hand side corner of the homepage.
