NOTE: Video of what I talk about is at GeekBrief.TV.

We’ve all poked fun at Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, for running across the stage at an event screaming (video) what I imagine are meant to be motivational words. The last such event was the CES Keynote, where Ballmer talked about the success of Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, and said something to the effect of “We Bing! And we Bing! We Bing! Bing! Bing!” While most people I know think his tactics are silly and goofy, and a bit embarrassing, you have to admit…they’re memorable.

I tried Bing when it first came out, and I liked it. But that was it for me. Most of us are in the habit of Googling. “Google it” is the default phrase when talking about a search engine. I use the Google Chrome web browser, and googling something is as easy as typing in a web address. Before Chrome, I was using Firefox, where Google is the default search engine. Firefox offers users a choice of search engines by clicking on a drop down box, but Bing doesn’t even show up in those options. You have to choose “Manage Search Engines”, scroll through four pages of search engines you’ve never heard of in order to find and install Bing. It’s not easy to use Bing, and habits are hard to break. Bing’s biggest challenge to overcome is converting those habits.

This week, I went to a dinner at Central 214 in Dallas hosted by Bing to find out what they’re up to and where they’re headed. It’s part of my job, but I must say, I love my job when it involves delicious food! I learned a couple things about Bing, and got a better understanding of why someone would want to use it. Bing is all about discovery. I’ve heard that sales pitch before from Microsoft, but I didn’t quite get it. Let me explain.

If you go to Bing.com, you’ll see a different background picture every day. Think of this like Google’s changing logo, but with Bing, you can hover over parts of the photo to get more information. One day it was a picture of an Olympic snow skier, and Bing was sharing information about why skiers wear the pants they do…how the pants make them faster and better. Today, the picture is a line up of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Hovering over parts of the photo, I discovered videos of past Olympic events and got 2 minutes, 29 seconds of smile-on-my-face entertainment with the video below, called Canadian, Please.

Visual Search was the thing that stood out to the most when I tried Bing originally, and I was struck again at how useful it could be when you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for. Imagine you saw someone using a camera while you were out shopping, and you were interested in buying it yourself, but you had no idea what it was. Bing’s visual search engine is intended to help you search for it by browsing photos of it, then clicking for more information. I gave it a try with a search for a dog I saw when I was in Atlanta last week. It was the cutest dog I’d ever seen (with the exception of my own, of course!), but I can’t remember what breed it is. Unfortunately, Bing left me hanging in this particular search.

While I was at the event, I asked you guys on Twitter for questions, and had Melissa Powell from the Bing team answer them on video. (Please forgive the background noise!) These are the questions you had:

• Will Bing app be any different on the coming iPad? –@alainbosse
• How can I set up a network for kids so they can use Bing but get safe results? Can it be done with a domain black/white list? –@MichaelAskew
• What is Bing’s social search strategy? –@bceverly
• Ask them about how they handle their users search results and how long they keep them? –@robbmcmahan
• How will they integrate Bing, Windows Mobile 7, Hotmail search on the phone & web all at the same time/same search? –@mbl4889
• Are the rumors true about Bing being the default on the iPhone?
• Do they like puppies? –@RadioConelrad

Will I use Bing? I will from time to time, when I want to discover, but I can’t see it replacing my daily habits on Google. What about you? Do you Bing? Do you Bing, Bing, Bing?

I’ve written about Trey Ratcliff and the HDR technique before. Trey is an HDR photographer who travels quite a bit. He posts a new photo on his blog, StuckInCustoms.com, every day. I was having lunch with him before he headed off to New Zealand, and since he had his travel bags there ready to go, I wanted to take a peek! I love knowing what gadgets other people take with them. Perhaps it’s a bit selfish….I figure I might learn a thing or two! Check out the video below, and if you’re not familiar with HDR photography, take a look at his tutorial.

Thanks to John P. for shooting this!

How many free desktop and mobile applications do you download and use on a regular basis? I know I use a lot. We all love free applications that improve our lives and make certain tasks simpler. But we also need to think about the developers who came up with the idea and put the effort into creating these applications. It takes a LOT of work to develop and support them. I try to always remember this and donate to the apps that I love.

My friend Scott Ellis is taking the idea of supporting developers of the apps you love and applying it to WordPress, which I know lots and lots of you use! WordPress developers put so much effort into creating and maintaining plugins and themes that make your website appealing for your visitors, and many of them don’t charge for their services. Scott is declaring March 1st “Support a WordPress Developer Day”. Well, I don’t think he’s actually calling it that, but he should! He’s issued a challenge to everyone to donate $5 to your favorite WordPress plugin developer. I’m going to take it a step further and suggest that if you can do more than $5, do it! And, why not support WordPress Theme Developers as well?

If you decide to participate,  leave a comment. You don’t have to say how much you’re contributing, but active and open participation in something encourages others to join in.

I’ll update this post on March 1st with which plugins and/or themes I’m supporting!

If you’re not aware, I do an audio podcast called Wealth Nation with John P. from One Man’s Blog and Woopra. It’s a show that focuses on getting the most out of life. John is very experienced in the corporate world and as an entrepreneur. I’ve built GeekBrief.TV with Neal from the ground up and know the online world and new media very well. We cover a range of topics, from finance and wealth, to marketing and SEO, to business strategies and relationships, and personal happiness.

I wanted to share this episode of Wealth Nation with you guys because it applies to you. John spoke at the DFW WordPress Group in Dallas, Texas. His topic was Make More Money with WordPress, Social Media and Analytics. He spent an hour and a half giving tips and tricks to increase your blog’s visibility and revenue, and we used the topic for this episode of Wealth Nation. Giovanni Gallucci (pictured on the right) joined us for the conversation and Giovanni had to call John out on a couple issues. You gotta love Gio! Watch the video below for ALL of John’s tips! You can listen to Wealth Nation here, and subscribe on iTunes.

The Dallas WordPress Group is the largest WordPress group in the nation. If you’re in the Dallas area, definitely come join the fun!

When it comes to bacon, I’m an Original girl. I like my slices thin and crispy. But I can also appreciate any other slice of bacon goodness. In a Yahoo! taste test, the best original bacon comes from Ozark Trails with the Hickory Smoked and Peppered Bacon. They suggest eating it on top of a burger or with fried eggs. I suggest eating it (whatever the brand!) as soon as it comes off the frying pan and cools off enough not to burn your mouth!

What’s your favorite kind of bacon? Leave a comment below!

Thanks to @El_Fenix for the link!