Over the past week or so Microsoft has used its monstrous marketing leverage to introduce its new search engine, Bing, to the world. Having used Bing just a handful of times, I can say that I’m intrigued by the service. I’m unwilling, however, to pronounce judgment on it yet.

That said, I was encouraged by a statement made by Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, in reference to the launch of his company’s new search engine. Commenting on his task of competing with Google and its amazing 64 percent market share, Ballmer said, “To make our 8% [market share] grow significantly, we don’t have to capture the imagination of everybody, but we have to capture the imagination of some.” That’s a great perspective to have, and it’s spot-on.

It’s easy for any of us to be intimidated by competitors who are much bigger and stronger than we are. But Microsoft understands a powerful principle: it doesn’t have to topple Google to succeed, it merely has to put a dent in its market share. With such a large footprint Google is, by definition, meeting some of its users needs better than others, which spells opportunity for enterprising competitors. And with #2 Yahoo a distant second (serving only 20 percent of the market), there’s a lot of room for share shifting. Rich and powerful Microsoft may be one of the few companies with the focus, intensity and wherewithal to make it happen.

For years I’ve rooted for someone–anyone–to take on Microsoft and win. Even though I’m a big fan of Google, I find myself oddly rooting that Bing will succeed. That’s the great thing about competition–it keeps every player on its toes. That almost always means good things for the rest of us.