Microsoft redesigns the Bing social sidebar feature, makes it easier to find search-relevant people

Ron

Just recently, Microsoft rolled out an update to the center column of Bing, which is called the Snapshot feature. Today, Microsoft revealed that Bing will be receiving an update to the social sidebar feature, which will now make it easier than ever to find search-relevant people from Facebook and Twitter, as well as other social networks.

“Today we’re rolling a new streamlined design for our social sidebar feature making it easier to find people who are relevant to your search based on what they’ve shared, publically blogged or tweeted about. In a glance you can now see friends, experts and enthusiasts from leading networks including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Klout have shared. While the sidebar will remain off to the right of search results – allowing you to decide when and how to interact with it – we’ve made some changes to the design,” Microsoft stated in an official blog post. Microsoft mentions that useful information does not come from blue links, so the company wants to add more relevant information to help Bing users save time. So what’s new with the new social sidebar? Microsoft has added the ability to see content front and center clearly marked “social results.” Microsoft has also cleaned up the design so there is less blank space on the page. Microsoft has also added a “+ see all” icon that lets you see more information. Microsoft is rolling out these changes over the next few days.