Getting Granular: The DigitalGrit Blog

Microsoft Buying eBay? Shut up!

Just when you thought it couldn't get any crazier, MarketingVox reports (via McPaper)that Microsoft is considering the acquisition of eBay. (You know you've got some bucks when you can just buy eBay.)

Microsoft has been in talks for several weeks about a possible acquisition of eBay, reported the New York Post on Friday, citing sources close to the issue. Apparently, Microsoft has considered buying eBay and merging it with MSN in a bid to challenge Google for internet supremacy, but as a result of antitrust concerns the talks have "cooled somewhat," according to the Post.

Moreover, last week eBay and Yahoo announced a strategic advertising and e-commerce alliance that may have dampened the talks as well, though one source has suggested the partnership would not necessarily deter Microsoft from going after eBay.

I've been referring to the recent flurry of news about Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, eBay, et.al. as the "search wars," but I think "portal war" is a more appropriate term.  It's a race to own full-service corner of the web, like AOL did back in the 1990's.

Does the adage "You can't be all things to all people" have any significance here here?

Google AdSense Introduces Video Ads (Screenshot!)

Google's launched video ads!

From MercuryNews.com:

Google will begin selling video advertising this week, as the largest player in Internet advertising continues to expand beyond the simple text-based ads that form the heart of the company's explosive success.

The new video ads will appear on Web sites that have agreed to display Google's advertising, but not on Google's own sites.

Typically, an advertiser pays Google each time a person clicks on an ad. Google, in turn, pays third-party Web sites for hosting ads that attract clicks.

Since early spring, Google has been testing the new service at Web sites like www.thesuper ficial.com, www.fanfiction.net and http://www.aintitcool.com. On Monday, a video for Max Factor makeup was placed alongside a story about a fight between designer Tommy Hilfiger and singer Axl Rose on a celebrity news Web site.

Gokul Rajaram, a manager with Google's AdSense Network, said advertisers can choose the Web sites on which they want their advertising to appear. The placement of the ad will depend on its popularity and the amount an advertiser has bid in an auction.

The video ads, which appear as static images that are activated by clicks from Web surfers, will not be cluttering Google's search results -- which will remain accompanied by an unobtrusive list of ads composed of a few words of text.

During the first quarter of this year, 58 percent of Google's revenue came from its own sites and 41 percent came from its network of third-party Web sites. Google's advertising sales for the quarter totaled $2.3 billion....

This is a neat new tactic for the ever-innovative Google. The ads look like regular ads with a "play" button. The one on Ain't It Cool News (see the screenshot above) is for TLC, and it plays their current "Life Lessons" ad if you click on it. Very cool.

Google AdSense Introduces Video Ads (Screenshot!)

Google's launched video ads!

From MercuryNews.com:

Google will begin selling video advertising this week, as the largest player in Internet advertising continues to expand beyond the simple text-based ads that form the heart of the company's explosive success.

The new video ads will appear on Web sites that have agreed to display Google's advertising, but not on Google's own sites.

Typically, an advertiser pays Google each time a person clicks on an ad. Google, in turn, pays third-party Web sites for hosting ads that attract clicks.

Since early spring, Google has been testing the new service at Web sites like www.thesuper ficial.com, www.fanfiction.net and http://www.aintitcool.com. On Monday, a video for Max Factor makeup was placed alongside a story about a fight between designer Tommy Hilfiger and singer Axl Rose on a celebrity news Web site.

Gokul Rajaram, a manager with Google's AdSense Network, said advertisers can choose the Web sites on which they want their advertising to appear. The placement of the ad will depend on its popularity and the amount an advertiser has bid in an auction.

The video ads, which appear as static images that are activated by clicks from Web surfers, will not be cluttering Google's search results -- which will remain accompanied by an unobtrusive list of ads composed of a few words of text.

During the first quarter of this year, 58 percent of Google's revenue came from its own sites and 41 percent came from its network of third-party Web sites. Google's advertising sales for the quarter totaled $2.3 billion....

This is a neat new tactic for the ever-innovative Google. The ads look like regular ads with a "play" button. The one on Ain't It Cool News (see the screenshot above) is for TLC, and it plays their current "Life Lessons" ad if you click on it. Very cool.

Has Yahoo! Bought Technorati?

Dave Berlind at ZDnet Blogs got this funny error message while trying to access Technorati:

If you zoom in, you'll see a Yahoo! 404 message. Berlind admits, it could be a browser bug...or the cat's gotten out of the bag a little early!

It would be a smart move on Yahoo!'s part. By integrating both del.icio.us and Technorati in their "My Web" Web 2.0 offering, they'd be getting the heart and soul of the social web under one roof, so to speak. Both sites are considered best-of-breed and both have ridiculously loyal followings. By acquiring these established sites, rather than reinventing the wheel, Yahoo! would be building a strong following for My Web.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Berlind was not able to repeat the above error, and fully admits that it may be a bizarre browser error. But what if it's not?

[Cheers to Ben Barren and The Blog Herald for the tip.)

Has Yahoo! Bought Technorati?

Dave Berlind at ZDnet Blogs got this funny error message while trying to access Technorati:

If you zoom in, you'll see a Yahoo! 404 message. Berlind admits, it could be a browser bug...or the cat's gotten out of the bag a little early!

It would be a smart move on Yahoo!'s part. By integrating both del.icio.us and Technorati in their "My Web" Web 2.0 offering, they'd be getting the heart and soul of the social web under one roof, so to speak. Both sites are considered best-of-breed and both have ridiculously loyal followings. By acquiring these established sites, rather than reinventing the wheel, Yahoo! would be building a strong following for My Web.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Berlind was not able to repeat the above error, and fully admits that it may be a bizarre browser error. But what if it's not?

[Cheers to Ben Barren and The Blog Herald for the tip.)

More Sparring in the Search Wars: Yahoo Unveils New Homepage

The reporters who cover tech news this must be exhausted this season. Every five minutes there's another headline about Yahoo, Google or Microsoft!

This *minute* it's about Yahoo. After two years, they've redesigned their homepage. It's slightly cleaner, slightly more modern. It's not as sleek as, say, MSN, but not gritty nuts-and-bolts like Google, either. It's also not a HUGE difference. See for yourself:

Yahoo sees the change as huge, however, and the page will not be the default Yahoo home page right away. According to Yahoo! COO Dan Rosenzweig: "Any time you touch the most visited page on the Internet, it's going to feel like a big change, and we think this is a really big change.''

Jupiter Analyst David Card disagrees. According to the AP:

... Card believes Yahoo's upgrades won't impress younger, cutting-edge Web surfers who are spending an increasing amount of time hanging out at MySpace.com. "They didn't really push the envelope very hard.''

To be fair, it is a big change for Yahoo. Apart from the sleeker look, the new design allows users "pull down interactive menus giving them snapshots of weather, traffic and movie information as well as providing instant access to the site's popular e-mail, instant messaging and music services."

More Sparring in the Search Wars: Yahoo Unveils New Homepage

The reporters who cover tech news this must be exhausted this season. Every five minutes there's another headline about Yahoo, Google or Microsoft!

This *minute* it's about Yahoo. After two years, they've redesigned their homepage. It's slightly cleaner, slightly more modern. It's not as sleek as, say, MSN, but not gritty nuts-and-bolts like Google, either. It's also not a HUGE difference. See for yourself:

Yahoo sees the change as huge, however, and the page will not be the default Yahoo home page right away. According to Yahoo! COO Dan Rosenzweig: "Any time you touch the most visited page on the Internet, it's going to feel like a big change, and we think this is a really big change.''

Jupiter Analyst David Card disagrees. According to the AP:

... Card believes Yahoo's upgrades won't impress younger, cutting-edge Web surfers who are spending an increasing amount of time hanging out at MySpace.com. "They didn't really push the envelope very hard.''

To be fair, it is a big change for Yahoo. Apart from the sleeker look, the new design allows users "pull down interactive menus giving them snapshots of weather, traffic and movie information as well as providing instant access to the site's popular e-mail, instant messaging and music services."

Search Insider Thinks Microsoft Could Beat Yahoo and Google in Search Wars

In today's Search Insider, Bill Wise provides three great reasons why Microsoft could beat Yahoo and Google on the Search Engine battleground:

• Ad targeting that can turn any advertiser's head;
• The money to buy their way to the top;
• Content that will drive eyeballs towards MSN Search.

His points are more than valid. I've always thought that Microsoft could at least retain a decent-sized piece of the pie, contrary to Yahoo!'s assertion that MSN has "no chance. The search business has been formed." At the end of the day, Microsoft has the resources to do pretty much anything, both financially and technologically.

Read the article and let us know what you think.

Search Insider Thinks Microsoft Could Beat Yahoo and Google in Search Wars

In today's Search Insider, Bill Wise provides three great reasons why Microsoft could beat Yahoo and Google on the Search Engine battleground:

• Ad targeting that can turn any advertiser's head;
• The money to buy their way to the top;
• Content that will drive eyeballs towards MSN Search.

His points are more than valid. I've always thought that Microsoft could at least retain a decent-sized piece of the pie, contrary to Yahoo!'s assertion that MSN has "no chance. The search business has been formed." At the end of the day, Microsoft has the resources to do pretty much anything, both financially and technologically.

Read the article and let us know what you think.

Microsoft on Entering the Search Battleground: It'll Take Time To Catch Up to Google and Yahoo (But we'll get there!)

In a week overflowing with news and rumors about Google and Yahoo!, Microsoft has made an announcement of its own -- No, they're not buying Yahoo! (or vice/versa), on the contrary, they have announced a five-year plan to catch up to the big guys. Recognizing that they're a late entry to the game, Microsoft will aggressively attempt to grab a honkin' slice of the online advertising pie:

"I don't think you will see some overnight transformation," [Microsoft CEO] Ballmer said. "It is going to have to be longer term. It makes sense for us to talk about five years."

Microsoft is making a big push into Web services and has vowed to keep investing in a variety of technologies as it seeks to transform the way both businesses and consumers operate on the Internet.

... At the core of this plan is Windows Live, an advertising-funded, one-stop shop for services from e-mail, to instant messaging, to blogs that targets the fast-growing online ad market. Forrester Research projects online advertising will grow to $26 billion in 2009 from a current $15 billion.

"We are a little bit late in the game," Ballmer said. "But at the end of the day it is going to be about the ability to create a mass marketplace for buyers and consumers....We are hard at work on our own core services where at the heart we want the users to be in control," Ballmer said. "There is a whole set of things we are doing to let the user be in control."

The game is heating up. Let's see if Microsoft can hold its own. Read the whole article. (UPDATE: Here's an even better article.)