Inspire, Spring 2010

In acknowledgment of this, the team moved Bill to the top of the list when asked to rank members by amount of leadership. This relatively small accomplishment had a big influence. In realizing how simplifying seemingly complex problems can save a lot of time and work, Bill saw how daunting tasks can be broken down into something more manageable — and, of course, simpler. All of this carried over into his work on Bing. As he began evaluating the world of Internet searching, he was stunned by how much time users waste chasing down information. “The state of web search today leaves a whole lot to be desired,” he said. “Regardless of the search engine, more than 40 percent of all searches don’t result in the answer users were looking for. What starts as a simple search ends up being overly complex and takes much more time. We created Bing to bring serious innovation to the world of online searching — and make it easier to find what you want.” The new search technology may sound similar to Google, but according to Bill, the two companies look at the problem space very differently. He believes that since search technology is still in its infancy most of its innovation is still ahead. FORWARD-THINKING With the fast pace of technological growth, the opportunity is ripe for creative transformation. Bill has a growing fascination for the potential of social media networks like Twitter and Facebook. “Social media will be integral to how we use technology over the long term,” he said. “But at this point, I have a hard time finding a lot of value in today’s social media services.” He compares it to the early days of radio, when the new technology attracted so many broadcasters that every frequency was in use, turning the airwaves into a useless jumble of noise. Radio corrected itself relatively quickly, matured over time, and found its place. Bill believes the same will happen with social media as the clamor clears up, exposing the pure value of the technology. Social media is just one aspect of the Internet Bill has his eye on. He admits to being constantly amazed by the online industry — like how massive the opportunities are and how far the business still has to go, despite the progress of the last 20 years. “But the thing that has surprised me most recently,” he said, “is how many good ideas don’t succeed. For every big success, there are 100 others that don’t make it. Starting an online service is very easy and very cheap; the growing is the difficult part. It’s amazing how many concepts come and go without anyone noticing.” With his work at Microsoft and his accomplishment with Bing, disappearing doesn’t look to be something he will have to worry about. As Bill’s story illustrates, making sense of today’s webs of complexity comes down to a creative mind and basic solutions — pure and simple. Bill Pardi ’91 and his wife, Jodie, live in Edgewood, Washington. Jodie homeschools their three children and designs her own curriculum, based on the classical model. The family enjoys visiting museums, parks, and zoos, as well as biking and waterskiing. Visit www.discoverbing.com to learn more about Bing. You may contact Bill at bill.pardi@microsoft.com . Mark Kakkuri ’93, a freelance writer in Oxford, Michigan, blogs at www.markkakkuri.com. You may contact him at mark@markkakkuri.com. Sharyn Kopf is a freelance writer in Clifton, Ohio. She has previously worked as a newspaper reporter and spent more than seven years as an award-winning radio writer for Focus on the Family. You may contact her at shari2t17@gmail.com. As part of the Microsoft team, Bill Pardi ’91 is helping to pave the way for future Internet innovation. i CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY 21