Ask: “It isn’t about beating Google, Microsoft or Yahoo!”
Thursday, May 24th, 2007;
-- Jordan McCollum |
Apparently Jennifer Laycock, Josh Catone and Andy aren’t the only ones wondering about Ask.com’s future. Forbes.com’s Victoria Murphy Barret sat down with Ask CEO Jim Lanzone this week to ask Ask where they’re headed. Some of Jim’s highlights:
It isn’t about beating Google, Microsoft or Yahoo!. Search is a huge market. Every piece of market share will be valuable in the long-term.
Saying we’re small is like saying we’re a small television network. I’d rather have a small slice of a watermelon than a whole grape. Put another way, Mercedes doesn’t sell as many cars as Ford, but which would you rather own?
We’re not up against a big brand, really. Our upside is getting people on Ask.com to do more while they’re there. We have 25 million users monthly in the United States. Our users, on average, visit us three times a month. Google’s visit 15 times a month. This isn’t the switching battle people make it out to be.
If you’ve ever wondered what Ask.com is doing and where they’re trying to go, this interview is a must-read.
What do you think of Jim’s points?
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May 25th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Har, an interesting perspective and I like how he was thinking OUTSIDE the box on the situation. I think ASK might have something up there sleeve.
May 25th, 2007 at 9:01 am
“It isn’t about beating Google, Microsoft or Yahoo!”
Something about that statement doesn’t sit right with me. If it isn’t about beating out the competitors, then what’s with the “we’ve got the most powerful algorithm” ads? If Ask isn’t out to appear better than Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo, why is it trying to portray itself as such?
May 25th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
[...] Ask: “It isn’t about beating Google, Microsoft or Yahoo!†[...]