Marcia - 1:36 am on Mar 2, 2008 (gmt 0)

So as of the latest today, it looks like a Reuters source says it isn't so [alleyinsider.com].

Makes me wonder whether there was a "rumor" leaked as bait to see if ears in Redmond would perk up and take notice, seeing they've been out on a shopping trip.

In a perfect world from where I sit, MSN/Live would acquire and utilize Teoma, which is one sweet piece of technology and always has been; and a far better choice on the part of Ask.com would be to partner with Yahoo! rather than Google, if only because of Ask's demographic and the potential they've got for portalizing within a niche they've always been strong in but never have capitalized on.

Thinking about Yahoo's acquisitions over a period of a few years (other than search) as part of their plan to bring properties in-house rather than outsource, they've got a lot going that could prove very useful to Ask going forward. Google hasn't got the in-house features, and looking at the traffic AOL sends, even with using Google Search, it's a mere fraction of what Ask sends (daily); and from my view and experience, they've got the same type of demographic.

Added:

Here's the 2005 thread from when Yahoo acquired Flickr [webmasterworld.com] and I finally found the press release in which Terry Semel's long range plans for Yahoo were mentioned. From 2001: YAHOO! TO ACQUIRE HOTJOBS [docs.yahoo.com]

Mr. Semel continued, "The acquisition of HotJobs is consistent with our strategy of building a diversified global business by developing deeper relationships and more valuable solutions in key verticals for our consumers and business partners.

It's mere speculative fancy at this point in time, but Yahoo's got an awful lot to bring to the table.

[edited by: Marcia at 2:00 am (utc) on Mar. 2, 2008]