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Google Must Save Yahoo from Evil Microsoft

posted on May 1, 2008

In recent interview with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo, Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt spoke out about his biggest concerns. Most pressing issue is the possible merger of Microsoft and Yahoo – which could happen as early as next week. Then there’s the problem of how to make money off YouTube – which is costing the company millions a year in hosting costs.

First, the tale of good (Google) and evil (Microsoft) and the fight over struggling Yahoo. In the interview, Schmidt talks up Yahoo’s strengths and warns about Microsoft’s evilness.

  • Microsoft can’t be trusted. They have a history of antitrust issues. They take away freedom of choice and that’s the very essence of evil.
  • Google likes Yahoo and Yahoo likes Google. There are mutual benefits. Together they can combine to fight against the evil forces of Microsoft.

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Pilgrim’s Picks for May 1

posted on May 1, 2008

Happy May Day everyone. If you live in Europe, I hope you’ve already had your turn dancing around the maypole. ;-)

For those of us less inclined to strap jingly-bells to our body, I present today’s Picks:

  • LinkedIn’s average user is 41 and makes $110,000 a year. That’s how the social networking site is able to make a whopping $75 CPM on its advertising.
  • Yahoo has made considerable upgrades to the images it uses for US cities in Yahoo Maps.
  • Shortly after switching my email to Google Apps, I noticed an email spammer sending emails and pretending they were coming from my email account. I took care of it by adding an SPF record for my email and, thanks to Doug Karr’s reminder, you can do the same.

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BusinessWeek Ordains Online Reputation Management as an “Industry”

posted on May 1, 2008

Online reputation management (ORM) is officially an “industry.” While there’s been a lot of discussion about the importance of reputation management, BusinessWeek is among the first to look at the industry behind it.

While I define online reputation management as this…

…realizing that the perceived value of your brand is defined by information found on the internet; therefore requiring your constant monitoring and participation in these web conversations.

BusinessWeek’s John Tozzi focuses in on the Google reputation management niche, and with good reason. I spoke with him for the piece and even I had to admit:

“The majority of inquiries that I get are from people who are looking to do a cover-up,” says Andy Beal, a marketing consultant and co-author of Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputations Online. “They’re not necessarily interested in trying to fix the problem. They just want to make sure that other people can’t find it.”

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s Yahoo Decision Could Decide His Future

posted on May 1, 2008

As Microsoft weighs its acquisition options with Yahoo, it’s interesting that its board is pretty much leaving the decision to CEO Steve Ballmer. Could it be that Ballmer’s next move be the one that decides his future at Microsoft?

Ballmer really doesn’t face an easy option when it comes to his company’s takeover bid with Yahoo. There’s not a "no brainer" decision that he can opt for, and walk away with everyone smiling. Consider his choices:

  1. Offer more for Yahoo. Microsoft has indicated it might increase its bid to $33 a share, but that’s still off from the $35-37 number that Yahoo (and its shareholders) appear to want. Offering more would bring a swift conclusion to the protracted negotiations, but down the road he might find stakeholders questioning whether he overpaid or not.