Microsoft Talks to AOL about Internet search & advertising networks

Apparently Microsoft is thinking, if we can't beat Google....

[BennyBlanco]

We will just buy up all of their portals and steal their market share. I am not sure at last check, but I think that AOL search makes up at least 20% of Google's total search market.

Microsoft and AOL News [today.reuters.com]

If Microsoft gets this deal, how long until MSN results are displayed on AOL?

[edited by: BennyBlanco at 3:06 pm (utc) on Sep. 15, 2005]

[edited by: engine at 4:00 pm (utc) on Sep. 15, 2005]

[skipfactor]

MSNBCCNNAOL

[Lord Majestic]

We will just buy uip all of their portals and steal their market share.

Google has made a number of acquisitions and will certainly do even more to "steal" market share.

It is likely that Microsoft will offer AOL a steep discount on use of WWW search engine -- I doubt Google is giving it away for free.

[BennyBlanco]

ROTMFFLMMFAO!

Aren't acronyms fun :) Seriously though, with so much chatter lately and personal interviews from Gates on big web publications (cnet), this news is interesting. Seems almost like getting the world ready for colonization by MSN search.

[Leosghost]

Worldcorp "where we think we'll let you go and how we think we'll let you get there and what we'll let you know about it ...( provided you are running our latest OS/Browser/media player suite )today"

[BennyBlanco]

Majestic,

Obviously there must be license agreements between AOL and G search. Also, I used 'steal' very loosely and acknowledge that it is just the business. As a webmaster, I would LOVE to see MSN results on AOL, MSN loves my sites :) My main point was that, isn't it amazing what you can do when you have all the money in the world?

[Leosghost]

isn't it amazing what you can do when you have all the money in the world?

cept build a halfway secure OS ..

stronger than I could resist

[Angelis]

cept build a halfway secure OS ..

You obviously havnt heard of blocking ports and using firewalls before traffic enters your network.

[Lord Majestic]

cept build a halfway secure OS ..

Windows is perfectly fit for purpose - desktop OS with very good backwards compatibility. Its also good cheap value, however for servers its too expensive and not good enough - Linux wins hands down.

[skipfactor]

>>If Microsoft gets this deal, how long until MSN results are displayed on AOL?

and CNN

[christopher w]

Does anyone know of the exact licensing agreement between Google and AOL?

[redzone]

AOL may not being paying monetarily for G's search technology. Costs may be subsidized in a lower revshare split on GAW's revenues from AOL originated traffic.

[texasville]

I think it's funny. Google started this little war...hope they are ready for the shelling they are going to take.

[lajkonik86]

this is nice.
very nice move microsoft would be making with that.
nice to know that they are fighting back.

Still google for some reason seems to be winning. That's my gut feeling.

If I look at the facts google is fighting a lost battle.

[walkman]

I hope it doesn't happen. MSN still rewards the "I got 124,000 unique backlinks last month, and keyword1-keyword2-keyword.com" type of sites. i will lose visitors if MSN takes over AOL.

[GameMasterM]

"Does anyone know of the exact licensing agreement between Google and AOL?"

I believe the agreement lasts through 2006, not absolutely sure. Not a problem though. AOL is already beginning to use a hybrid search using tech from Vivisimo and I believe a license of some sort from FAST for local.

Google would just be relegated to below the fold until the contract ends IMO.

[webhound]

Yeah they need to work on their search engine before worrying about sharing their crappy results on other portals. Just my 2 cents. Fix your crappy search engine Gates. :-)

[joeduck]

ROTMFFLMMFAO!

Benny! You kiss your mother with that mouth?

[skibum]

Well, if G can pull off the next stock offering, that'll give em' an extra 4BN to throw around and make things interesting.

[BennyBlanco]

lol Duck. She doesn't mind, but my wife.....

[walkman]

>> Well, if G can pull off the next stock offering, that'll give em' an extra 4BN to throw around and make things interesting.

that's not that much. MSFT makes that much profit in 2-3 months, not to mention their reserves.

[2by4]

"You obviously havnt heard of blocking ports and using firewalls before traffic enters your network."

Angelis, not to drift off topic, but you can rest assured that leosghost has heard a lot more than you think.

[trillianjedi]

Don't forget that two days ago Google raised another $4.18bn to "fund expansion".

Don't rule them out as a potential buyer of AOL.

TJ

[bnhall]

according to the Financial Times, AOL's partnership with Google "could be renegotiated quite easily"

[zafile]

"Apparently Microsoft is thinking, if we can't beat Google..."

Google's market share grew dramatically when AOL made it its default search engine.

Just think ...

All those AOL browsers [5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0] scattered all over the world with their search boxes pointing to Google are key for Google's survival.

And guess what ...

Microsoft made those browsers.

Therefore, the open source community's idea that Microsoft "is thinking, if we can't beat Google..." is flawed.

Instead, Microsoft knows Google's market share could easily be shaked up with:

1. A deal with AOL
2. IE 7.0
3. Windows Vista

[MLHmptn]

Bring the heat MSN! :>~ Google deserves it!

First Yahoo...Now AOL?! LOL!

Too much play in your sandbox Serg!