Details about the end of Microsoft’s attempt to purchase Yahoo! were announced on Saturday and bandwidth has been chewed up ever since then with announcements of the end of the offer and the release of a Microsoft memo to its employees.
I found it an interesting story to follow from the beginning to the end.
It was also interesting to see this news break on the weekend. This is all about money. There will be a reaction, you have to believe on the stock markets with Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Google stock. Rather than a knee jerk reaction, investors will have the weekend to ponder strategies. This is a major story hitting front pages world-wide this Sunday morning. The New York Times deals with the story and its implications here and the Toronto Star here.
It’s big news on the financial markets. But, what of us poor folks with our PCs just trying to find stuff on the internet?
It seems to me that the key to success is to provide one stop services for people. Google’s success lies in the fact that you can go there for darn near anything that you want. It’s truly like going to a Zellers or Walmart store. You really don’t have to go anywhere else. Virtually everything that you want or need is there. And, while you’re in the store, you are exposed to a consistent framework and strategically placed advertising that lets you find men’s pants, milk, and picture frames. The winner and dominator in the search market will be the company that can provide all of the online features with one portal.
A merged Microsoft/Yahoo! would have provided an intriguing one stop site for us. Right now, these are search stops #2 and #3 for me when I’m trying to find something. Merge the two of them together and you would have the innovation of Yahoo and the power of Microsoft to deal with. It would have been very intriguing. From a business perspective, by landing on their site, they can serve up advertising and that’s where the big bucks lie.
I don’t think this issue is dead. The stock market and not some noble endeavour to service the surfing public will have its say. We might be revisiting this merger or looking for a new one when the markets open on Monday and the investors have their say.
Tags: Search
May 4, 2008 at 9:30 am
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