YahSoft: Google Removes Gloves
February 3rd, 2008 • Internet
An otherwise quiet Sunday, then Google slides the blog post equivalent of a B52 laden with armed nuclear warheads out of the hanger.
The post on its official blog, penned by their senior VP of Corporate Development, shows a forthright side to The Big G that we, the average consumers, never get to see. It asks many questions, perhaps the prime one being:
Could the acquisition of Yahoo! allow Microsoft — despite its legacy of serious legal and regulatory offenses — to extend unfair practices from browsers and operating systems to the Internet?
So for Google, the issue is the ‘preservation of the underlying principles of the internet: openess and innovation.
This has inspired the odd guffaw from some quarters, but also a sharp rebuke from Microsoft, who point to Google’s market dominance in search.
In turn, Google has now approached Yahoo’s Jerry Yang to see if it can ‘help’ as the company considers the Richmond bid.
One thing’s for sure: this is a turning point for the internet. Not just a skirmish or a little web-head politics, but a genuine T-junction. Turn one way, and Microsoft instantly gains parity with Google in search. If you sit in the Microsoft camp, the irony is sweet - the company that brought you Windows and Office undermines the market monopoly of a software giant.
Turn the other way, and you have Google snuggling under the duvet with its largest search rival. Given the proven capabilities of both, this could produce some thrilling products. It also places the search ad market effectively in two hands instead of three.
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