Symetri Blog

In May of 2007, Microsoft took a stab at Yahoo, trying to buy them up for what amounted to $50 Billion dollars after Google's acquisition of DoubleClick. Yahoo balked. Now, Yahoo's looking at dropping 1000 employees because of a poor 4th Quarter. Microsoft is taking another stab, this time at $45 Billion. Microsoft's impetus is trying to get a larger piece of Search Pie. But will it help them?

Microsoft has been floundering distantly behind Google for years now, and the new branding switch from MSN Search to Microsoft Live online environment amounted to a laughable attempt to be just like Google, like your little brother trying to copy your metal shop project with yarn and Scotch tape, only he's your much older brother and - that imagery makes me sad, and this should not be pity, but comeuppance. Honestly, though, how many people have heard of Spaces, xRank, HealthVault, or QnA, let alone use them like you would MySpace, Google Trends, WebMD, or Yahoo Answers? Live.com, anyone? Bueller?

The best answer for Microsoft, should the deal go through, would be to scrap these ancillary, late-to-the-prom failures and adopt the Yahoo version and brand. Focus on the Live Search and, just perhaps, make people aware of it. Finally, blend the MS Adcenter with Yahoo's Panama, taking the good pieces of Adcenter and adding it to the superior interactivity and usability of Panama, even though a "best of the best, sir!" hybrid would still lack the Adwords user-friendly happiness. At the very least, they could adopt Yahoo's educational model and abandon their Adcenter blog altogether, literally instead of figuratively. This may work out to improve Microsoft's revenue. Unfortunately, no one opened the Microsoft Calculator to check: 2 + 3 ≠ 1.

UPDATE: Yahoo has rejected the Microsoft bid of almost $45 billion, saying the offer "substantially undervalues" the company. Pattern: in about 8 months, Microsoft will make another bid to buy Yahoo, this time at $40 billion, if not less.

Labels: microsoft, world domination, yahoo

In the 2006 wrap up, I wrote about how Yahoo and MSN jumped onboard (yay!) to support the Google Standard of sitemap joy. They both came out, but MSN isn't quite playing yet. Still, there is no official interface (like Google and Yahoo) with which to submit your sitemaps.

And so while awaiting such an instrument, autodiscovery comes to the forefront at SES NY. Autodiscovery is what they're calling the ability to place a single line of code (e.g., Sitemap: http://www.symetri.com/sitemap.xml) in the robots.txt, and everyone can read it.

So that's why MSN's been sitting on their hands.

And who's there to show them up? Ask! No, silly, the computer can't hear you. I mean Ask.com. And not only do they support the simplicity of this wonderful idea, they even have a secondary measure: you can submit XML sitemaps directly to them using their sitemap submission link. Aww, snap.

So how does this affect us in SEM Land? It's another piece of armor to strap on; we're not replacing the chain mail with the full plate, but layering. We've got a "we support this" from the Big 4 (after this move by Ask, they deserve it), but no numbers backing how it will all sort out. Maintain the Yahoo and Google accounts, keep your feeds up to date, and add that extra line of code to the robots.txt.

But layer appropriately, fair traveller. If you reach your weight limit and the onyx sword is revealed, it's of no use if you can't even pick it up.



Category: Search Engine Marketing and Optimization

Labels: ask, big 4, google, microsoft, symetri, yahoo

It's coming; are you ready?

Thanks to the ingenuity of the United States Congress, March 11, 2007 (yes, that's three days away) is our new Daylight Savings Time start date for the year. What's the issue? Any computer system dealing with time and scheduling will be affected by this. While you personally may end up late for a meeting, you're not conducting thousands of take-offs and landings from an antiquated computer system at your local airport.

Some people are mumbling Y2K under their breath. They're mumbling because Y2K turned out to be such a bust. People were stocking doomsday supplies and building bunkers. And nothing happened.

But the lack of audible, street-corner, sandwich board rhetoric has had the reverse effect. In seven years, the necessary volume of what we pay attention to has gone way up. Media has multiplied and things that don't matter are being blasted from every available megaphone (see Anna Nicole Smith, Britney Spears, etc.). So when the meek, tenderfoot voice comes up to us, tugs at our shirtsleeve, and says "Um, you might want to download this patch," our unnecessary Microsoft-Necessary-addled eyes, our ears ringing with mp3's, mp3 lawsuits, and other ringtones go blind, go deaf.

Clearly and straight: Pay attention, but don't build a bunker. Microsoft Support has your back. But not without problems. That link will address both Windows and Outlook. Here's some love for the salt-of-the-Earth Linux folks.

That should fix it.

And remember: skepticism and planning are key to avoiding little pitfalls like this. And foil hats. You might want to have those ready too.



Category: Search Engine Marketing and Optimization

Labels: linux, microsoft, symetri