Microsoft Takes Control of Kumo

Microsoft recently took control of Kumo.com and according to LiveSide, they are planning to re-brand Live Search early next year. Kumo which means “cloud” or “spider” in Japanese, seems to be a long over do change.

Microsoft seems to have been delaying this move as they pursued the ever allusive Yahoo acquistion. Now that Microsoft has “moved on” it seems that they are kicking in high gear a re-branding effort.

Ever since Live.com launched it has been a failed attempt to rival the Google brand which has become synonymous with search. If Microsoft is going to get serious about search they are going to need to create a world-class brand to rival Google and back it up with a product that is compelling and delivers a significantly better user experience.