Say it ain’t so! LiveSide is reporting that Microsoft might be rebranding Live Search under the name, Kumo.com.
Kumo.com is now registered under Microsoft and the name servers are now under SEARCH.LIVE.COM. Going to Kumo.com takes me to a page that says I do not have permission, but takes Microsoft employees to a special internal site.
We heard Microsoft might be rebranding Live Search, once again, to a new brand. I never would have imagined it would be Kumo, which means “cloud” or “spider” in Japanese. I certainly hope they don’t go this route, it just doesn’t seem like this new name would help them in any way.
You can see more discussion around Kumo, as a new brand name for Live Search, at Techmeme.






Ars Technica reports Microsoft’s new possible search brand, Kumo, is testing features in the public space. The features of Kumo are being seen in Live.com by some users.
This can mean that Live Search might remain the brand of Microsoft’s search engine. It can also mean that Microsoft is looking for a way to test certain features without changing the domain and brand. We expect Kumo to launch at SMX Advanced in Seattle next month. So time will tell if Kumo is the new brand or if Microsoft sticks with Live.com or goes a totally different direction.