Are Their Pigs Flying Above Our Heads? Has Hell Frozen Over?
Posted by: Dave M. in General News, Opinion/Editorial, tags: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo
Wow, what an amazing turn of events:
Today, we announced a non-exclusive advertising agreement that will provide Yahoo! with access to our AdSense for search and AdSense for content advertising programs on their U.S. and Canadian web properties. In addition, we will work to enable interoperability between our respective instant messaging services allowing users better, broader communication online.
[From Official Google Blog: Our agreement to provide ad technology to Yahoo!]
Two competitors working together! I wonder if this is to help Yahoo! fight off Microsoft from taking over.
Still, It’s a very impressive move by Google. If there are no ulterior motives, this would probably be the biggest PR move any company has ever done before. It’s going to make Google look like saints!
Anyone have any thoughts on why this is happening? It sure looks like a good will gesture to me.
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I think I can guess why - will they look like saints? Very likely yes - but saints also look after their own interests. In this case, by partnering with Yahoo!, they have essentially made sure that Microsoft cannot attempt a take over of the online search and advertising space.
Let me explain: Were Microsoft to offer Yahoo! a fantastic deal (say $50 a share), and should it be finalized, you would still have Microsoft essentially dependent on Google for a part of its online revenues, which is what Google has wanted all along. Besides Yahoo!, Microsoft has no other option but to let go of the online space or try to (in vain in my opinion) compete with both Yahoo! and Google on their own.
You see, Microsoft has, all these years, remained smug in the knowledge that it is the platform provider and everyone else will be dependent on it, thus ensuring its perpetuity. Come Google, and the offline platform is becoming more irrelevant by the minute, and this has struck fear in and shakes the very core of Microsoft’s philosophy and being.
You can rest assured, they will fight tooth and nail to make sure the Y-G deal does not crystallize - but in my opinion - they will falter and they will fail.
Moral of the story - DON’T BE EVIL!