06.14.10
comScore — Paid by Microsoft — Finally Admits Its Figures Are Bogus, Gamed
Summary: Microsoft uses comScore, Yahoo!, Carl Icahn, and even the oil spill (with Stephen Colbert’s help) to promote its lies
Microsoft’s paid partner comScore [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10] has been used by Microsoft to show gains while Microsoft was actually not making gains; rather, Microsoft was losing market share, according to independent companies that claimed to be measuring the same thing. We have shamed comScore for its bogus, US-only ‘share’ estimates, which we claimed to be “corrupted”, possibly by the conflict of interests comScore has with its paymaster, Microsoft.
According to news, comScore doubts its own ‘statistics’. That’s putting it generously. comScore actually admits that it’s bogus, but it hasn’t said anything until recently, still leaving publications to misinterpret its false data, claiming that Microsoft gained. How much information has comScore distorted so far? And for how long? Surely enough to make Microsoft’s investment in it pay off.
Microsoft is said to be playing tricks using Yahoo! and comScore uses that to pass the blame (Net Applications, which is also funded by Microsoft, used a similar diversionary/blame-passing trick last year). As it’s put by two Microsoft boosters [1, 2], comScore blames others for its own lies.
The May comScore U.S. search market share data is out, and both Bing and Yahoo are showing gains over April, while Google is down slightly. But even comScore is questioning its own data.
Both Yahoo and Microsoft are including links on their respective Yahoo and MSN portal pages “that are search queries disguised as content,” according to a story from Business Insider. The pair also “have been stitching together image slideshows as search queries, too,” the post explains.
More here:
Comscore Says It’ll Fix Search Share Measurement Now That Yahoo And Microsoft Are Gaming It
Yahoo and Microsoft’s Bing have recently been “gaining” market share in comScore’s search engine stats for somewhat sketchy reasons: The companies have increasingly been putting a ton of links on their popular homepages that are search queries disguised as content, and have been stitching together image slideshows as search queries, too.
And also here:
- Report Raises Questions On Yahoo, Microsoft Search
- Microsoft and Yahoo Gaming Search Share, ComScore Not Pleased
- Microsoft, Yahoo gain market share–report
- Yahoo, Microsoft search gains not what they may seem
“Microsoft is manipulating its statistics to boost its internet search marketshare.”
–AnonymousHow come nobody points any fingers at comScore? They seems to have kept silent on the issue for far too long. Microsoft has been spamming with false search queries in order to boost its count for several years now, so there is no room for surprise that Microsoft is cheating, as always. In reality, Google keeps increasing in share, especially globally where Microsoft has less than 5% in terms of market share in search. Anonymous people in USENET have more to say about it. One argued that “Microsoft gaming its search marketshare”, explaining further that “Microsoft is manipulating its statistics to boost its internet search marketshare. Searches on the MSN website and even accessing content on the Live websites are being counted as Internet search queries. Comscore is altering its algorithms to preclude these from counting as searches.
“I’ve mentioned before in this NG that Microsoft is rigging IE and Windows so every non-recognized command is automatically send to Bing. These are not proper internet searches and shouldn’t be counted IMHO. If we deduct these I wouldn’t be surprised Microsoft’s search marketshare falls well below 10%, maybe even below 5%.”
Let’s not forget the effect of Microsoft’s hijacking of Yahoo!. As noted in a new article from The Associated Press:
In one recent battle, he tried to oust Yahoo Inc.’s board in 2008 after the company turned down Microsoft Corp.’s $47.5 billion takeover offer. Yahoo eventually appeased Icahn by allowing him to take a board seat himself rather than kicking out the rest of the company’s directors. Icahn left Yahoo’s board last year, happy with the company’s new CEO, Carol Bartz, and its decision to hire Microsoft to provide search results.
Icahn was communicating with Microsoft throughout this gig; they were not separate. This is an experienced vulture for hire and corporate “agitator”, as Yahoo’s Yang/management called him. He is an unwanted infiltrator who uses money to break companies apart. Thanks to him, Microsoft executives took key positions inside Yahoo! and Microsoft is now taking away its userbase, too [1, 2].
“Icahn was communicating with Microsoft throughout this gig; they were not separate.”As Microsoft Nick put it, “Microsoft Aims To Power Yahoo Search By The Holidays” (“The Yahoo and Microsoft Search Alliance” calls it another article).
There are some other new articles about the subject [1, 2] and the second Microsoft Nick says that Microsoft’s algorithms will soon power Yahoo!
Given that Microsoft changes its own ‘search’ results to suit its own agenda, this is bad for civilisation’s information. It is shameless, but not shameless enough for Colbert to say “No” to sellout. All the Microsoft boosters use his fake (paid-for) endorsement [1, 2, 3], which is advertising for Microsoft and specifically for PR that takes advantage of a major disaster [1, 2] (gulf coast oil spill). Microsoft has no qualm about using disasters (which kill people) to make more money and deceive the public. █
Content is available under CC-BY-SA