Microsoft's Web search engine division, Bing, released a statement Monday that it will host the first interactive State of the Union experience in history. Bing and FOX News together will launch a Bing Pulse online voting tool during the president's State of the Union address on Feb. 12 at 9 p.m. EST.
The first of its kind voting tool will allow Americans to share and also track opinions in real time using Bing Pulse. The State of the Union experience at Bing.com/Politics provides up-to-the-minute news regarding politics, along with real-time conversations and social opinions on major policy issues. The Bing Pulse tools will offer an easy way for viewers to share their reactions to President Obama's speech directly on the Web site, according to Bing's statement.
Many Americans want to have a more interactive political experience, according to a recent survey conducted by Bing. It's reported that 75 percent of people consider themselves to be active observers and participants on online political forums and discussions.
"Powered by Bing search technology and its unique social search experience, to meet this growing need for up-to-the-minute political information and second-screen experiences that are a great companion to political broadcasts," said Bing in its statement.
During the president's speech, the Bing Pulse online poll will update the results every few seconds. The site's visitors will be allowed to register their party affiliation, identify their genders and join in on the conversation. The poll will also feature a line graph of votes or what Bing refers to as "pulses," to indicate how people react to certain language and issues and the data will be analyzed in separate categories according to gender and political affiliation.
Bing.com/Politics will also keep people up to date with a live feed of President Obama's State of the Union address which will include commentary from political experts from FOX News Channel. Viewers may also visit https://www.foxnews.com/sotu for additional commentary. There will also be a live feed of social conversations on Twitter and a live sentiment analysis on major issues such as gun control and immigration via Bing Beat.
"Bing uniquely offers a holistic view of information, reaction and even sentiment during this key political moment in America. Our strategic partnership with FOX News Channel allows us to provide the data Americans want to see most, and Bing Pulse will set the bar for live polls of the modern age," said Mark Penn, corporate vice president of Microsoft.
