Microhoo Cares Already!

Just so you are prepared, this post is entirely speculation and conjecture based on my following the Microsoft and Yahoo “drama” that has been unfolding over the past century or so. As you may guess from the title, I have had enough. Either make it happen or don’t. Put us out of our misery here.

Think about it. If it takes this long for these two entities to figure out if they can tolerate each other then what will it look like when they live together for real? This whole thing is starting to feel like a marriage that everyone mutters under his or her breath, “I give this one 2 miserable years max”. Couple that general feeling with what is probably a remarkably complex corporate prenuptial agreement and you have a recipe for cordial roommates at best and a complete train wreck at worst.

From what I have seen thus far with the egos and the ‘personalities’ that are involved at the top of these negotiations this whole thing is starting to smell bad. Ben Franklin once said that “houseguests — like fish — begin to smell after three days”. I am no Ben Franklin but I will make a modern day adjustment to this concept by saying that “Microhoo is starting to stink even before anything really happens”.

This endless silliness of “He said, she said” and talk of boatloads of money and media speculation is making this proposed union one that appears more and more unholy before it is even a reality.

In light of the Google / AOL ‘investment’ that turned out be such a winner let’s fast forward a few years from now and imagine. As with any of these kinds of arrangements you have three possible results: wildly successful, ho-hum results or complete disaster. Personally, from my seat here where I have literally NO insider information or insight, I think that if this ended up with ho-hum results then it would be considered a success. The idea of these two companies playing nice together in a shared sandbox sounds as likely as peace in the Middle East. Oh, and there is that little detail of the competition. I might even think that Google is secretly rooting for this deal to happen because of the plus side for them when it all falls apart and the Internet media picks over carcass of the Microhoo we never knew.

At this point, just let your yes be yes and your no be no. We’ve had enough already. Microsoft, you are a software company that is about the desktop. Yahoo, you are …… well, I guess we’ll find out when you rebrand in the fall. Go back to your rooms and concentrate on what you do well so we can all move on. Actually, I take that back. If you two actually do decide to “make nice” it will give all of us something to write about when nothing important is happening.