Let’s do a quick comparison of Yahoo! Buzz (beta) and MSN xRank (beta) …

You will see below that Miley Cyrus is right up there in terms of Top Searches on Yahoo! as a result of the Vanity Fair photo shoot (Annie Leibovitz was the photographer) … not earth-shattering stuff … Paula Abdul’s latest antics and American Idol cover 20% of the Top 10 … not a mind-bending result either ... Note that the Giant Squid wins!!

MSN xRank however, doesn’t even have Miley Cyrus in their Celebrity xRank - despite listing over 6,000 celebrities.

So, wait, maybe MSN is protecting celebrities under 18? … hhmm, nope – Abigail Breslin is at #2,037 … OK, this is the Miley Cyrus (Disney / Hannah Montana fame) that you have to take out a small mortgage to secure tickets (if you can get them), right?

Debbie Gibson (Deborah Gibson these days - remember the ‘80s teen sensation?) even rates at #1,300, although sliding dramatically out of favor … Wait, Debbie Gibson rates a mention and not Miley Cyrus? Hhmm, Playboy photo shoot v. Vanity Fair photo shoot ... that can't be it.

Did a developer over at MSN exclude Miley from the search algortihm in a futile attempt to prove to his/her kid that Miley isn’t that popular anyway? I can understand the financial motivation ...

MSN certainly picks up the articles if you search there … just doesn’t rank Miley Cyrus or Hannah Montana as a celebrity (I guess that is a different department in Redmond).

Here’s the difference between Yahoo Buzz! and MSN xRank … Miley Cyrus, in the cross-hairs of media globally is picked up as the #4 search. Over at MSN, however, Miley Cyrus doesn’t even make it to their Celebrity List despite setting the media and blogosphere on fire.

OK, so both pieces of software are in BETA. MSN xRank, however is the equivalent of releasing a map of Australia without, say, Sydney.

Beta bakeoff ... Yahoo! 1, MSN 0 ...

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