Frank X. Shaw, VP of corporate communications for Microsoft, wrote in an Official Microsoft blog post Wednesday that the company noticed Google loyalists seeking alternatives in much of the web discussion following the privacy update. The PC giant, Shaw writes, has several options for those looking to escape Google and its popular line of products.
Microsoft attempts to position its web services as the anti-Google, informing new and former users that the company's products value the users' interests.
"The changes Google announced make it harder, not easier, for people to stay in control of their own information," Shaw writes. "We take a different approach – we work to keep you safe and secure online, to give you control over your data, and to offer you the choice of saving your information on your hard drive, in the cloud, or on both."
Microsoft recommends email provider Hotmail, which doesn't display ads based on your private conversations; Bing, for its user experience; Office 365, which hides cloud-based business documents from advertisers; and Internet Explorer, which it touts as the world's most popular Internet browser.
Shaw also notes that Microsoft will be placing ads in major newspapers this week to the same effect.
Do you think Microsoft is taking the right steps to position its products as the premier Google alternative? Let us know in the comments if you are looking to move away from Google and which alternative web services you plan to adopt.