Thanks to a tip from Pradeep, Microsoft has confirmed with SearchEngineLand.com that Bing xRank has been discontinued. In fact, if you visit http://bing.com/xrank now, it will redirect to the Bing homepage. Here’s a screenshot of Bing xRank from the Wikipedia entry:
Bing xRank started off as Live Search xRank back in April 2008, and was only updated to Bing xRank during the rebrand in June 2009. According to Microsoft’s description:
xRank keeps track of notable people and puts them in order for you. We count Bing web searches for movie stars, musicians, and other famous people. Then we compile our findings into an insightful ranking formula that tells you who the world is searching for most. The result is a cultural snapshot of who’s hot and who’s not!
While it’s sad to see it go, Bing xRank has had its glory back in the days, and it’s good to see Microsoft trimming down its unpopular services to focus on other aspects of its “decision” engine. Rest in peace, xRank!