Yahoo Purchase

[ched]

OK ... Yahoo bought Inktomi - pretty big news huh?  I said at the time on my site that there would be more big news to follow (figuring that other se would jockey for whatever they could) ... OK, MSN announced that they were gonna get in the game for real.  Bigger news huh?

NOW ... Yahoo buys Overture? ... WOW - I didn't see that one coming for a long while, but it happened today.

Now ... what's everyones reaction to this?

[Queen Bee]

All I can say is... Wow!
I'm in shock.

[SensoVision]

yeah folks it's happen and it's happen not really today but few days ago, check out this post we have discussion about Yahoo there... BTW it's really shoking news as I didn't suppose that this will happen.
Ched, seem that you may predict a future if you known that this will happen Can you predict something more please?  

[ched]

to be honest I hadn't seen the Yahoo/Overture news - guess I should be reading the register more often huh?

As far as predicting the future, I kinda figured that when yahoo bought Ink, and MS stuck its nose in the game, there would be some major repositioning - but I NEVER saw this Overture one coming!

[ched]

OK ... here is my prediction:  Look for big news out of the Microsoft camp by the end August beginning of September:  I figure they will buy ask.com / Tehoma

[SensoVision]

OK ... here is my prediction:  Look for big news out of the Microsoft camp by the end August beginning of September:  I figure they will buy ask.com / Tehoma

Thanks Ched, I'll note this info and will see if it happen in future.
Just imagine it would be so cool to have on board not only millionare but millionare who predict future
Seriously talking I think you could be very right in this prediction since MSN need some better technology than they has now if they want to compete with SERPs of other search engines...

[ched]

   Wouldn't even be surprised if they purchase findwhat, Excite and iWon along with it.

[ched]

A brief recap:
2 young kids started this whole "Search" concept back in 1994 when as college students, they started keeping track of sites (before we had bookmarks and favorites).  They sorted them into catagories, got really popular, and Yahoo was born.

Through the mid-late 1990's there was an explosion of search engines, everyone was getting on the web, and buying websites.  Altavista, Excite, Lycos were all chasing after all the traffic that Yahoo was getting.

Then in the late 90's Google came along, and really put togeather a good ranking algrorythim.  They shot to the top of the charts in search engines, webmasters started to take note of all the traffic that was had through these "search resources", and flocked to the se folks to get listed.

Next, Google saw some $$$ here, and started to offer a "paid sponcership" thing to get listed at the top of pages.  A whole bunch of folks saw the money to be had, and jumped on the "pay for inclusion" bandwagon, (but too many of them forgot to keep the free submission stuff).  EVERYONE was a search engine now .... BUT!

Then we had the dot.com crash, and the bottom fell out of the the whole Internet thing.  Now all these folks who had bunches of time and money invested in a 'business' saw it was either sink or swim, and they all stared to "swim for shore".  The consolidation began.  Disney bought go.com, Excite merged with iWon, then MSN snapped up Looksmart.  I forget who ended up getting snap.com way back when, but that was a big one too.  and the really big databases like Tehoma, Overture, dmoz, etc. started to supply results to folks who wanted to stay alive.

Now you have the second round of "Consolidations" taking place.  Google is getting WAY over their share of the market (between 70% - 80% of the market depending on the sources your read).
Google does Netscape / AOL, and that's a big piece of the pie, plus the fact they are the choice of most searchers.
Yahoo says "Hey, we were THE search engine, and is trying to recapture their market with Inktomi, Overture, Alltheweb (which I think in results anyway will be as important as any other acquisition), Altavista etc.

That leaves MSN and Looksmart (I think they're missing the boad with the pay for results thing myself).  They want to be a big player too. Then again, Microsoft always does.  Gates and crew have this vision that they are the only company in the computer world!  Surprised they haven't gone after the hardware market yet.  I figure they'll play some heavy handed dealings before it's all said and done.

That really only leaves ask.com (the fast search technology) and Excite with its iWon.

We know where Ted Turner is putting his money (AOL / Time Warner always goes with Google).  Gates has the $$$, where will he spend it?  Develop his own (that would be a first - they usually 'buy' technology, i.e. the purchase of CP/M and making it DOS, and downloading public domain BASIC to implement it.  I'm not sure Bill has done anything of note since he wrote the program that allowed you to save files to a floppy disk (1976) - and what gets me, he was the first to write a paper on "warez" or piracy back in 74 or 75.  But I digress.

So.......... we have:
Google: AOL, Netscape, and Turner
Yahoo: now they have Inktomi, Overture, ATW, et. all.
and MSN / Looksmart: They are loading their guns (seems I mentioned that a loooooong time ago when I joined this forum).

Excite and ask.com / Tehoma are sitting ducks! (although not lame ducks in my opinion).  Who's gonna bag 'em?

[Queen Bee]

Excite and ask.com / Tehoma are sitting ducks! (although not lame ducks in my opinion).  Who's gonna bag 'em?

Me! They're mine, all mine!
Heh... Who knows, you're the only decent psychic around here.

[SensoVision]

wow, Ched! thanx for story, I wasn't on the web in the times when all this happen so it's good to find out what was before I appear here.
[qoute]2 young kids started this whole "Search" concept back in 1994 when as college students, they started keeping track of sites (before we had bookmarks and favorites).  They sorted them into catagories, got really popular, and Yahoo was born.

why one of these students isn't me?

[ched]

Don't sell yourself short Dennis ... you've got a GREAT start with weblamp.  Good pr, good informative forums, and quality members (*cough, *cough)...

I'm looking forward to great things with weblamp.  The one thing that puts you so "head and shoulders" above so many other webmasters is you continually want to learn.  You ask for advice.  It's the geeks and webmasters that think they know it all that may be a flash in the pan today, but end up out of the loop by next month.  As long as you're willing to admit there's things you don't know, you'll continue to learn - and that says a LOT considering what you already have under your belt.

[Queen Bee]

Amen to that.

[SensoVision]

thanks Rachel and Ched!

Don't sell yourself short Dennis ... you've got a GREAT start with weblamp.  Good pr, good informative forums, and quality members (*cough, *cough)...

sure, we have great members, and this make our community unique!