On Wednesday night, Microsoft launched MsnNOW, a site that promises to "surface the latest buzz" from social media feeds including Facebook and Twitter.

On the surface, it's unclear how MsnNOW (or "msnNOW," as the site likes to call itself) is any different than the MSN Wonderwall - or, for that matter, any other gossip site on the Web. (A Microsoft spokeswoman said in an email that Wonderwall is a destination for celebrity news, while MsnNOW will focus on "breaking trends" from across the Web.)

It appears, however, that MSNNow employs an Instapaper-like approach to trolling the Web, but with a focus on what users of its Bing search engine are actually searching for. At the upper left of the page, a counter constantly monitors Bing searches and social media updates. (Unfortunately, at press time, the live page noted that the trends were current as of "02/15/2001".)

"Every moment of every day, people are searching, sharing, tweeting and posting content, MsnNOW said in an explanatory note. "It's hard for people to know what others are really talking about; so every few minutes we look back at the last 24 hours to tally, sort and analyze millions of Bing searches and social updates. We sift through all this data, toss out the boring, the lame, the uninteresting -- and then look for patterns to emerge. Our advanced technology detects breaking trends as they happen in real time -- so you'll find stories on msnNOW that you'll find nowhere else. Sure, we'll cover some big stories, but with a unique social angle. We think this new blend of algorithms and editorial is the perfect way to find the stories that matter now."