Filed under: Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO)
As Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) gets ready for another round of speaks with Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) about buying its search business, the news that CEO Steve Ballmer killed two chances to get into search several years ago has emerged.
While there’s some chance that the new chief of Yahoo! might elect to keep the portal company’s search business, there’s little reason not to at least hear Microsoft’s latest offer.
Ballmer had the opportunity for MSFT to build on the internet search empire almost ten years ago. According to The Wall Steed Journal, “In 2000, before Google married Web search with advertising, Microsoft had a rudimentary system that did the same, called Keywords, running on the Web. Advertisers began signing up. ” For reasons that are hard to fathom, the world largest software company thought that an ad business built on search could hurt revenue from its other businesses. Microsoft also had the opportunity to purchase a relatively small search company and passed.
Continue reading Steve Ballmer killed Microsoft’s massive chance at search
Steve Ballmer killed Microsoft’s huge chance at search originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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