A few months ago, we
announced an exciting partnership with Facebook to make search
more social. As part of that work, we introduced Liked
Results, which promotes links your friends have publicly liked or shared
via Facebook. Today we are extending Liked Results to annotate any of the URLs
returned by our algorithmic search results to all users in the US.

While we are very excited to talk about our next development, we’re all aware
that it’s all part of a longer journey. This is the first time in human history
that people are leaving social traces that machines can read and learn from, and
present enhanced online experiences  based on those traces. As people spend more
time online and integrate their offline and online worlds, they will want their
friends’ social activity and their social data to help them in making better
decisions. Integrating with Twitter data 16 months ago was one step, and
exploring Facebook’s rich streams is another.

If your friends have publicly liked or shared
any of the algorithmic search results shown on Bing, we will now surface them right
below the result.

For example, when I was planning a trip to Napa, I wanted to find a great bed
and breakfast for my stay. A traditional search result showed me a long list of
web links and captions, which would take up some time to parse through
individually:

 

Fortunately, several of my friends that have been to Napa in the past have
liked Churchill Manor. Using Liked Results, the Bed & Breakfast that my
friends have liked gets highlighted with their pictures and names – making it
easier for me to quickly refine my search and decide where I should stay.

You may not see Liked Results on every query, but when it does trigger it’s
often a delightful experience. We are hoping that it will make searching on Bing
more effortless and enjoyable. We are continuing to work with Facebook to make
search more social and relevant, so please check back again for more updates!

Lawrence Kim, Bing Social Team