Microsoft Web search exec leaving company

Chris Payne, corporate vp of Windows Live search

[phranque]

from reuters [reuters.com]:

Chris Payne, corporate vice president of Windows Live search, is leaving Microsoft to start his own company in Seattle, said the source, who asked not to be identified.

Payne's departure takes place at a time when Microsoft continues to struggle against Google in Internet search even though the company has tried to overhaul its search site with a new look and features.
..
Payne would become the second executive from Microsoft's Internet arm in the last week planning to leave the company . Blake Irving, a Microsoft vice president who oversees the company's AdCenter system that sells ads next to search results, plans to retire, Microsoft said.

[weeks]

I think he got canned, but still believes in his ideas enough to try them on his own. Good luck to him.

The major lesson of G was knowing how to scale these projects from the get-go. Make no small plans.

Also, those with new ideas on web search have a problem: The 1990s are over. I played around on the fringes of the search biz and contextual marketing. What I eventually determined is that G and Y will take over any good idea, expand on it and put your concept to shame. This is a problem even for Microsoft.

[amanS]

He may not be able to start a search engine if he signed a non-competitive disclosure (I think that’s what it is called) with Microsoft.

[Reno]

even though the company has tried to overhaul its search site with a new look and features

If MS is focused on the "look" and the "features", then that is part of the problem. Both the "look" and the "features" are in all likelihood fine as far as the average surfer is concerned -- what needs attention are the issues we discuss here, such as the inability for the bot to index some sites properly so they get into the database in a timely manner.

AND, if they really want to go toe-to-toe with Google, then they need to offer webmaster features such as a notification mechanism when a site is in jeopardy of a penalty, and of course, some sort of sitemap program which is similar to what G and Y are doing.

The "look" and the "features" are cosmetic -- it is what is under the hood that counts, and ultimately, Live can only succeed because what it builds under its own hood is at least as good as Google and Yahoo. As it stands right now, they have a way to go, but I remain hopeful that MS can get the right team in place to get this service back on track. If that happens, then things could turn around for them relatively quickly, in which case we all stand to benefit.

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[SEOVisits]

good luck to you Chris Payne, ur gonna need it.

Hopefully, his ideas will help revolutionize this industry even more.