In a desperate attempt to gain search market share, software behemoth Microsoft is making another bid to buy search giant Yahoo. My first reaction is: Is Yahoo really that stupid? At first glance, this deal doesn't make any sense.
Yahoo has such a powerful brand that thrives on community and millions of registered users. Microsoft is a distant third behind Google and Yahoo for search market share, so their interest and objective is obvious.
The question remains: Why would Yahoo harm years and years of brand-building by selling out to a company that has such a bad public persona attached to it? Neither Yahoo nor Google has the privilege of making consumers cringe like Microsoft does. Yahoo wouldn't sacrifice their company or brand like that.
A deal that might make more sense would be for Yahoo to purchase Microsoft's search division, namely the MSN property, but let's be realistic that doesn't make any sense either. What could Yahoo do with MSN.COM? Uh, nothing.
Merging two conglomerates of this size is quite a daunting task. On the surface, the mutual benefit for both parties isn't obvious. What does make sense is for the two companies to partner together and devise a strategy to hurt Google's search market share.
Google has been slapping around Yahoo and Microsoft for going on 3 years now. In March, Google reigned supreme (once again) with a 48% market share in the search market followed by Yahoo at 27.5% and Microsoft at 11%.
Here's why this deal may happen…
Google has made it obvious that they do not plan to have user-driven search results and that they will always rely on a 'mysterious' algorithm to drive their search results. Can you imagine the day when Google gives its visitors the ability to vote up stories or submit new content? Sorry to say it, but Sergey Brin and Larry Page don't have that much faith in us.
If Microsoft and Yahoo partner with their search divisions it will be to build a search engine with user-generated rankings and content. Not a search engine like Digg or Netscape, but maybe an entity that puts out initial rankings for keywords and users are given the ability to vote the result up or down.
In essence, Digg has one major flaw. Everybody can submit garbage content and pages to Digg. Their database of content grows and grows and nothing else is involved.
Although it is very powerful, Digg's model does not allow the content to be "pre-approved" by an editor or algorithm to ensure it is relevant, original and useful. This is where the opportunity lies.
What if Microsoft and Yahoo banded together to create a algorithm-based search engine that relied on its visitors to alter the rankings? Imagine that scenario. The algorithm ranks the content initially and the users decide where it goes. Either up or down.
None of the major players (except for Netscape) have stepped into this segment yet and I guarantee you Microsoft and Yahoo see this as an opportunity to steal search market share from Google. Netscape has come from obscurity to being a player again because of their switch to this model.
It would be interesting to see Microsoft and Yahoo create a model that relies on algorithms to process the content and the users decide where it falls in the rankings.
You know eats at the heart of Bill Gates, Jerry Yang and David Filo each time they hear a reference to "Google It" or "I Googled" in television shows, magazines, popular media and dozens of other sources.
It is part of our vocabulary, culture and mindset. That will never change, but a merger and a smart plan from these two giants can put a dent in the public awareness of Google.
Another interesting point is that these two companies are perfectly fine on their own. They don't need each other, but they both want Google to go down and that would be the primary reason for a merger. No doubt about it.
Rumors have been shot down by both parties and called rampant speculation. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the talks are dead. Isn't that how all mergers start?
Somebody leaks it to the public so when the announcement comes, no one is too surprised by the news. Look at what happened with Google and YouTube. It was a rumor and the next week a merger was finalized. Don't be surprised if we see an announcement soon.
google, mergers, microsoft, yahoo
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13.Jul.07 
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Your ideas are worth thousands - You Can Share it and Profit from it
Here’s Why and How
Do people come to you for answers about a particular issue? I’m confident they do because every one of us has greater knowledge about a topic than the average person does. Maybe you’re a great cook, musician, crafter or a home improvement pro. With Internet access, you start profiting from your ideas in this eLearning business.
Why eLearning Business?
E learning has it’s roots in good old fashioned correspondence school. The biggest difference is the method of delivery and the advancement in technology jointly with the emergence of the Internet to deliver richer formats and learning experience from a distance than other distance learning methods.
While at the dawn of the eLearning culture, the influence was aimed at traditional learning subjects such as Math, English, Physics, Chemistry and the like. However knowledge entrepreneurs saw it as a beaming opportunity to introduce non-formal learning which erupted into great success. People from all walks of life created and sold their ideas and knowledge through e-books and for many years proofed successful. You can find e-books on any and every topic ever thought or fathomed.
eLearning from Expert Peers Is Hot
Are you good at something? Do people say you should teach, pass on your knowledge or make a business out of your expertise? Maybe you’ve tried all kinds of home businesses but they just weren’t for you. An eLearning Business might be your answer.
If you take a good look at the Internet, it’s really a big peer to peer library of information. It was made for information sharing and it’s more apparent today than ever especially with the emergence of blogs, ‘how to’ sites and wikis (an online information resource built by common people). For many, learning from peers is less stressful and it gives them a sense of ‘I can do if they can do it, and this in itself is appealing.
People are Always on the Move!
Everywhere around the globe, modern day living has been about a constant move and keeping oneself busy. Between the daily commute, family commitments and work, many people simply do not have room in their schedules attend a physical class. If they could join a class virtually online, they can still learn, communicate with instructor and peers just like a real class without having to be there physically. And this leads into my next point.
People with disabilities want to learn too. That’s right. There are so many people who cannot get to class. eLearning is the answer for them.
Not Bound To Location
People are getting more mobile. For some, work takes them to far flung corners of the world. In the past, if there isn’t a school in your town, you’ll have to travel or even move to the town your school is in, or postpone their education altogether. E Learning requires no such commitment – which can be quite a big one if one already holds a steady job.
Launch your eLearning Business
One of the site that offer such facilities and tools is eLearningCommunity (http://www.eLearningCommunity.com ). The good news is it’s FREE.
eLearningCommunity.com is the ideal eLearning platform to get you going in the right direction. You want to find a service that offers the features that you need to take your business to another level. It provides you all the tools you will ever need to be thrive in this business. It could be the difference between a successful eLearning business and one that never gets off the ground.
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About Peony Wong
Peony is a blogger. She conducts coaching via virtual class (eclass). She also provides guidances and remedies for internet marketers or knowledge providers on how to monetize their presence in the cyberworld via elearning. For further information, please log into <a href=”http://www.elearningcommunity.com”>ElearningCommunity</a>
21.Jun.07 Contributors, Profiting Ideas, e-Learning Comments (0)
Jack was
stumbling along today and found a
great example of Link Bait and a unique way for eCommerce sites to
drive more traffic to their site.
What is more boring than luggage and suitcases?
Nothing right? Except for maybe toothpicks, umbrellas or carpet cleaner.
Luggage Online took advantage of a cross-promotion for their market and has
capitalized on it big time.
Their linkbait piece
20 Bizarre Hotels is well-written, well-designed, entertaining and memorable.
The tie-in to their market is obvious. People looking to travel need luggage and they are counting on bringing those people to their site.
The thought process is simple. The visitor reads a great article on travel and the next time the visitor needs luggage, they will probably remember Luggage Online.
It's a win-win situation for the visitor and the company. Brilliant work by Luggage Online.
More tips for driving traffic to eCommerce Sites:
- Use a powerful content management system. A solution like Joomla is perfect for a site like this. You can only customize so much with a Yahoo Store.
- Look for cross-segments in your market. In this example, they are using a much larger market like travel to sell luggage.
- Other examples would include: a piece about the benefits of running to sell shoes or a piece about marriage and relationships to sell diamonds. Always be creative and look for ideas.
- Create a piece like this on a monthly basis. By nature, most eCommerce are not dynamic in nature. Meaning, they do not use RSS feeds and are not constantly updated. Adding fresh content will add momentum to your site.
ecommerce,
link bait,
luggage online
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18.Apr.07 Contributors Comments Off
