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Microsoft Seeing Purple?
By Matt Keough | February 1, 2008
The news is out that Microsoft seeks to purchase Yahoo! The search engine marketing world is atwitter with the news. Way too soon to weigh in on whom the big winners and losers would be if this transaction actually occurs.
However, it seems that one of the problems Yahoo! has experienced over the last couple of years is duplication of services because of acquisitions (Flickr and Yahoo! Photos, etc.) and the challenges presented in managing this change.
Microsoft’s transition from MSN Search to Live Search has been…interesting. Will Microsoft buying Yahoo! do anything to improve the competitive environment for both parties? I think I just heard a Mr. Burns “Excellent!” echoing around Mountain View.
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February 1st, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Great post Mr. Keough!!!! I was wondering when a Fathomite would chime in on such ground-breaking news in our industry. Please take a look at the tread on your company’s forum and get some feedback on the thoughts there please!
http://www.fathomseo.com/forum/topic.asp?whichpage=0.8&TOPIC_ID=448ࢤ
Thanks,
Rox
February 1st, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Rox,
Thank you. And thanks for alerting me to the forum thread!
Matt
February 4th, 2008 at 8:36 am
If this goes through it would be interesting to see what and how it turns out.
As much problems and slow to improve things on MSN Live Search how can MSN keep the momentum going?
February 4th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
“Will Microsoft buying Yahoo! do anything to improve the competitive environment for both parties?”, you ask.
I think Google fears so, Matt. It has been reported today by the NY Times that over the weekend Google was concerned enough to ask its lobbyists to contact the Justice Department to look into anti-competitive legal charges against the proposed merger. Additionally, Google’s CEO contacted Yahoo’s to try to persuade him not to go with MSN and that Google could support Y! with incentives not to do so. Pretty revealing stuff if you ask me. And pretty ironic, too, that Google would attempt to say that its biggest potential competition is not promoting competition by merging itself to gain more market share against the big dog. In fact, not only is it ironic, but the accusation sounds absurd … are we supposed to believe that Google is acting benevolently on behalf of the consumer who needs an Ask.com and 2 other search engines to throw stones at the bear? Is Google doing no evil when it utters such doublespeak? Does it depend on what the meaning of “competition” is? Get me some supporters to rally around this cause–we have a global icon that just can’t get a break!