Deal will create competition, not destroy it.
Dear Department of Justice:
After a long courtship, Yahoo and Microsoft have agreed to a long term search and advertising deal. The deal is going to end up in your lap early next year, and a number of lobbyists will be screaming that the deal is anti-competitive. Don’t buy it.
This deal creates a competitor. It takes two also-rans in the search business and turns them into a true (although still relatively weak) competitor to Google.
As a small web site publisher, I’m convinced that having at least two viable advertising providers in the search space is critical to keep each one in check. Right now we have a growing ad provider in Google and a faltering one in Yahoo. Everyone else is a tackling dummy. By Yahoo and Microsoft joining forces, their scale will be enough to entice more advertisers to pay attention. This, in turn, will benefit web entrepreneurs.
I realize you need to look like you have a heavy hand. But this isn’t a case to worry about or slow down. Don’t listen to the Google-funded army; do what’s right for millions of advertisers and web site publishers. Give this deal the green light.
BF says
I second that.
Domain Investor says
Eric Schmidt was very active in the election of Obama. That allows him one chip in the game.
Do you think he will want to use it to block this joint alliance?
Or, save it for something else in the future?
Mike Mays says
I have been listening to that same excuse for 15 years while the banks, airlines, movie/media and oil companies merged and has brought us less competition not more. Less jobs not more. Less money for shareholders and employees not more. Less taxes in the US coffer not more.
The only folks who benefit from this is the top level brass in the company and the election campaigns/lobbyist.
So what happens when bing or google are too big to fail and do. How much competition is there. How much innovation. Who would reap the profits then.
Do you have a stake in the company?