by
5 Comments

Alan’s Angle – The GYM Triangle

posted on April 12, 2008

Nope, it’s not something which helps you stay in shape: I am, of course, referring to the Google-Yahoo!-Microsoft triangle which dominates everything which has to do with news and it definitely seems that things are not about to change.

I liked the way Andy has analyzed the similarities between the GYM triangle and soap operas. After all, soap operas are all about illustrating how people can go from hating each other to becoming close friends, from enemies to lovers, right? Let’s analyze a few important events and see if the same principle applies as far as the GYM triangle is concerned.

by
7 Comments

Alan’s Angle – April Fool’s Day, 365 Times a Year?

posted on April 5, 2008

Having gone through more than a few of the industry’s April Fool’s Day posts, I have come to quite an interesting conclusion: as far as the Web is concerned, we are actually celebrating April Fool’s Day 365 (366) times a year.

Let’s face it: nothing should surprise us nowadays. “Google is conquering space!”, it sounds like a fairly decent April Fool’s Joke, doesn’t it? But guess what: it’s not a joke, it’s was actually an announcement (does Google Sky ring a bell?). No matter how incredible a scenario may sound, nothing would surprise me if the word “Google” were to be included in the headline.

by
8 Comments

Alan’s Angle – Will Google Reap Rewards or Face Consequences?

posted on March 29, 2008

If I were to only use one word to describe Google’s decisions, it would have to be “controversial”. As the industry’s biggest player, it simply comes with the territory and results will, in the end, speak for themselves.

Unfortunately for Google, comScore’s numbers don’t exactly paint an all that optimistic picture this week, with their February click growth being down 3% compared to January and up (only) 3% compared to February 2007. We have to admit this much: webmasters complain about Google all of the time, but having numbers reflect that as well is not exactly something you see every day.

Sure, that doesn’t mean that we should start reading more into these numbers as necessary but, on the other hand, they do make us think: will Google reap rewards or face consequences as a result of the controversial decisions I’ve previously mentioned?

by
6 Comments

Alan’s Angle – Can We Blame Yahoo! for Hoping?

posted on March 22, 2008

Yahoo! has definitely been the most active player this week and, as far as their announcements are concerned, I’d label one of them as “entertaining”, yet two as “quite interesting”.

I have found their optimism this week to be extremely entertaining since, let’s face it: given the current state of the US economy, one cannot help but be amused when a billion dollar company in their situation claims to be able to double their cash flow in as little as three years. Being optimistic is one thing, but given the current circumstances, their claims are not exactly what one would call realistic.

by
2 Comments

Alan’s Angle – From Words to Action

posted on March 15, 2008

The fact that Bebo was sold for $850 million (a surprisingly low amount according to most analysts out there) to AOL definitely represents the highlight of the week, and that makes one wonder: where on Earth have the other big players been?

If we take MySpace as an example, a company which was also sold way below what it was worth if we take its potential into consideration (the folks over at News Corp are most likely congratulating themselves for their decision each day), it does indeed seem that $850 million represents a more than decent deal for AOL.

In the meantime, as far as the whole Microsoft-Yahoo! drama is concerned, the situation can be described using as little as 5 characters: “words”. Their executives met up so that Microsoft can present its “vision”, while, on the other hand, Yahoo! seems to be negotiating with everyone and their dog.

by
14 Comments

Alan’s Angle – Are Google Competitors Throwing in the Towel?

posted on March 9, 2008

If you were to stop for a moment and take a look at the market, it could definitely seem that things stand this way. After all sorts of scenarios regarding possible mergers, after all of the controversy generated by the possibility of Google finally having a decent competitor, what do numbers tell us?

The answer: 66%, Google’s February market share (US). It seems that, no matter how hard competitors were to try, Google’s position seems untouchable. The most disappointing part is the fact that they don’t even seem to be trying in the first place.

by
23 Comments

Alan’s Angle – Google Perfect Enough for Ask.com?

posted on March 1, 2008

By Alan Johnson

I’m sure most of you have realized that things are not looking all that great for Yahoo!, and let’s just say that both management and investors are beginning to face the facts. To make matters worse, it seems that Google is, according to TechCrunch, close to securing yet another victory, with the folks over at Ask looking into switching to Google for search and abandoning or selling Teoma.

“Downhill” seems to be the best word for describing the way things stand as far as Yahoo! is concerned, and their situation is even close to being ridiculous, since, in their annual report, they have, as strange as it may sound, stated that their executives were somehow “distracted” by Microsoft’s bid. It’s fairly safe to assume that, when your executives start having a nervous breakdown as a result of a bid, be it a billion dollar one, you are not exactly giving the impression of a company which is on the right track.