"It was a clue."

c|net interview with “Microsoft corporate vice president of search program management” Derrick Connell (oh, to have an eight word title) on Microsoft’s collaboration with Facebook on the new Bing social features:

"Zuck said, ‘Don’t try to do social by building social on the side. Build it into the experience,’" Microsoft corporate vice president of search program management Derrick Connell recalled.

"He said it four or five times," Connell said. "It was a clue."

Five times isn’t a clue, it’s a directive. So what did they end up with? (emphasis mine)

The seeds planted by that clue come to life today as Microsoft rolls out a new version of its Bing search engine. (snip) But the big change is a new gray sidebar on the right side of the page featuring a separate set of search results culled from the searcher’s specific Facebook friends.

Clue missed. Though, as someone who’s not a fan of Google’s Search Plus Your World maybe that’s a good thing.