Comments on: Yahoo, We Can’t Afford A Monopoly In Search Advertising Even If It Kills You

By: Cec

Cec — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:07:01 +0000

I disagree on this being Microsoft’s fault for not having better products. The majority of Joe Schmo internet users have no idea Live Search exists, and that’s due to Google’s enormous popularity (Google is now a verb, much like Photoshop, another unrecognized monopoly).

I prefer by far Live’s image search to Google’s any day. Live Video Search is also much better (IMO) than Google’s (video previews, search over various online video sites, etc).

When it comes to popularity, the quality of the product is usually secondary to the name/brand attached to it.

Not to bash on Google, as they definitely have some really good products, but I have to disagree with you if you say quality is the definitive benchmark by which consumers judge a product.

By: Bill Gates v. Warren Buffett On Competing With Google: Charge The Moat! | Viningmedia Nieuws

Mon, 04 May 2009 21:42:21 +0000

[...] For the record, we agree. Google needs competition in the search space, and only Microsoft can compete on that scale. Whether they win or not, the Internet is healthier with more than one search provider. [...]

By: Bill Gates v. Warren Buffett On Competing With Google: Charge The Moat!

Bill Gates v. Warren Buffett On Competing With Google: Charge The Moat! — Mon, 04 May 2009 21:07:37 +0000

By: Elf Designs News » Yahoo and Google Advertising Agreement

Elf Designs News » Yahoo and Google Advertising Agreement — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:17:04 +0000

[...] Microsoft however are not to happy about the deal – this will bearly leave Live Search with a 20% share of a the SEM market. Whilst Google have been very specific that this will not mean elimination of a competitor from the market or increase Googles share or search traffic there are still fears Googlisation (Google Monopoly) where Google will be able to charge monopoly prices to advertisers. The issue has been debated alot in terms of commerce, but at the end of the day “It’s about maintaining a healthy Internet ecosystem that continues to let entrepreneurialis… [...]

By: Income Tax India

Income Tax India — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 16:19:52 +0000

Now congress realizes this too..

By: Yahoo’s Promises v. Yahoo’s Reality: Congress Finally Gets It

Yahoo’s Promises v. Yahoo’s Reality: Congress Finally Gets It — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 03:29:06 +0000

[...] I wrote on September 27, the current deal between Yahoo and Google will inevitably lead to the decline of Yahoo’s [...]

By: Legal Advice

Legal Advice — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:07:58 +0000

When the US Government decided that Google’s purchase of Doubleclick did not constitute a monopoly it basically set the tone. It makes one wonder whether the US Government will ever pursue Google with the same zeal as Microsoft has been target.

By: MGA

MGA — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:12:18 +0000

I agree, too. This is going to kill all competition since Google+Yahoo will hold more than %85 of all online ad revenue. Currently i am spending tremendous amount of ad money on Google, and once they dominant the market, they are going to ask whatever they want. And i don’t want this to happen…

By: Let’s get organized :) | PocketSmith

Let’s get organized :) | PocketSmith — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:55:58 +0000

[...] Google Apps users, we have access to a large range of free online tools. I am not a big fan of monopolies but I must admit Google Apps are simple and [...]

By: Agoracom: Small Cap Investment

Agoracom: Small Cap Investment — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:42:11 +0000

[...] addition, leading tech blog – TechCrunch – recently published “Yahoo, We Can’t Afford A Monopoly Even If It Kills You”, which outlines in detail the significant monopoly creating risks of any such [...]

By: American Capitalist

American Capitalist — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:06:14 +0000

@Harbir, Abehsera:
Ha ha. Sure, someone will disupt Google…in a hundred years. This notion that a free market will cure all is a pipe dream. Nice “romantic” theory about the invisible hand fixing everything but the devil’s in the details. Don’t discount the massive resources that Google has and will use in order to maintain its lead. It will only get easier if there is less regulation. This Yahoo deal is just one example of Google using its might to grow its position in the marketplace. Has anyone disrupted Microsoft by the way?

By: Marijan

Marijan — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:19:43 +0000

This “deal” could make stuff better or worse no one really knows all are after their own interests almost certain is that yahoo ads will die and deteriorate, still there are other non major league ads but they re in corner and getting advertising predators together in hunt means a lot of mind jobs for publishers and their competitors.

Not really sure of outcome time will tell if they go together but am certain that it s going to be hard to stop them because is cynical ethic yahoo is getting to be publisher for google adsense and showing ads to their traffic.

weird world

By: Google ‘vs’ Microsoft, Business As Usual « Dynamic Disruption

Google ‘vs’ Microsoft, Business As Usual « Dynamic Disruption — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:18:39 +0000

[...] in the game too, hurray. Now all of them are fighting over google trying and being the monopoly In Search Advertising. By the way microsoft wanted to buy off Yahoo few months [...]

By: Venkat from India

Venkat from India — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 06:25:00 +0000

Deal MUST NOT HAPPEN! Google is well on its way to be the next microsoft !!

By: AB

AB — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:15:48 +0000

I’m confused with the dumb heading of this post:

What do you mean by the heading?

We can’t afford a monopoly in search, even if it kills you [by not doing the deal] OR
We can’t afford a monopoly in search, even if [the deal] kills you

Either way you are saying that Yahoo! will be dead, which creates a monopoly anyway. (which is the point made by the previous reader). This is a dumb post that only Michael Arrington can post. The heading almost suggests that you want the company to be dead and have an agenda.

By: blah

blah — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:40:19 +0000

Well if Yahoo is killed, than Google will be only there hence creating a monopoly.

By: sk

sk — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 11:45:18 +0000

At the most basic, I see a conflict in Yahoo’s business model. The Yahoo website is attractively designed for you to spend the most time there, (and generate pageviews ad inventory which they sell) and meanwhile search is designed for you to leave the search page and go to the search results.
I think if yahoo made a standalone search page (without it being part of a portal), it would have a better chance of competing with Google.
Search being part of a portal prevents yahoo from serving search to all the countries where yahoo doesnt have a portal. Eg. I bet yahoo is not used at all except the 30 or so countries where yahoo has portals. Thats 150 countries missed opportunity,
Eg. I am writing from Slovenia in EU where no one ever uses yahoo search (why should we, yahoo doesnt have local language portal here because its a small country) whereas google.si (local google version) rules. Because it just takes google to translate 10 or so words on their spartan interface to make a local google version (google.si.google.hr, etc) they do it remotely, whereas yahoo being a publisher needs a whole local effort to serve a market.
Same situation is in mail, where everyone uses gmail around the world because it has inteface in every local language translation. and yahoomail doesnt.
Microsoft faces the same problem with live.com whatever, doesnt have a standalone search page.

The way I see it is that on a basic level yahoo and MSFT businessmodel is not scalable because they need to setup local language portals to be able to serve search to a country population, whereas google plays its game remotely, so more scalable. and you can guess the trickle down effect with local language blogs displaying adsense, and so on, which helps up in grabbing mindshare and respect.

I think yahoo/MSFT should first make their business model scalable for the whole world using a simple standalone search page, and since they both realize that there is much more money and long term future in being search leader than a portal pageviews leader, I wonder why they didnt do it already. And then deliver good search results. The they have a fighting chance. Otherwise no amount of grumbling from them or users in going to help them in this fight.

And I dont see google losing any money/sleep over monopoly lawsuits (until they do something really anti privacy in future) As their system stands now, they are a beautiful monopoly because majority users go to them, and not because of any buldling of services etc (MSFT/IE saga), and this is not illegal in any market

By: Harbir

Harbir — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 09:06:51 +0000

Hi Abehsera,

I totally agree with you and the post made me think if this is being written by a person in China or Russia. You can only make the things worse when you get Government involved in business. Don’t we already see what happened to the financial market. Monopolies are only created in where you have Government regulations and never in a free market economy. I am sure someone out there is working to disrupt Google and this only makes the incentive bigger.

By: Sun

Sun — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 08:28:09 +0000

Big no

By: online entrepreneur

online entrepreneur — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 06:49:36 +0000

I was very apprehensive too with the placing of ads in Yahoo! site. But come to think of it, Google already beaten Yahoo! in the search arena since Google have almost 70%. But still Google needs publishers to serve their ads because you can’t put all the ads on the search engine pages itself. The same thing as Yahoo! even if Yahoo! place adsense ads on it’s search pages. Besides, we are not sure if the quality of traffic coming from Yahoo! is profitable because I read in a blog about the comparison of Google traffic vs. Yahoo traffic. It was said that most traffic that really “buys” are coming from Google and those “speculators” are coming from Yahoo! for more info visit this site >> http://www.yuga...nes-use-google/

By: Carlos

Carlos — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 05:06:24 +0000

Webmob-ad, is a new start-up that just came out . It is a pioneer in the automation of mobile and web advertsing by creating the only self serve and fully automated marketplace for CPC and CPM advertising . It supports all types text ads, banners and video ads. PUBLISHERS EARN THE HIGHEST SPLIT OF THE EARNINGS. Register is FREE. Please check it out : http://www.webmob-ad.com.

By: Carlos

Carlos — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 05:06:23 +0000

By: Ad Manager

Ad Manager — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 04:14:11 +0000

I share the same view and already see my ad cost increases yet conversions and leads do not follow the trend. Google’s ambition to control ALL advertising assets is very dangerous. Businesses and consumers alike should realize this before it’s too late.

By: Boby B

Boby B — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 01:45:50 +0000

TC, you obviously don’t run a site.

By: T. C.

T. C. — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:11:22 +0000

How can you say Google is a publisher’s only choice? The huge majority of ads served on TechCrunch are NOT Google ads. It seems like every other week TechCrunch is writing up some new ad network or ad optimization system. Web publishers have lots of places to go to get ads on their site.