Microsoft and Yahoo: 'Microhoo' vs the DOJ

      Before anyone in the crowd starts yelling "insider!", let me state publicly that I am not employed by, a partner of, nor in any way a representative for any company discussed in this analysis.   Let me further add, in the sake of full transparency - I do use different search engines from time to time, including all of those named in this article (and then some!).    Let's face facts: different engines do some things better than others. That being said, my personal favorite search engines are NeXplore.com and AltaVista, but even I can't resist the need to "Google something" now and then. So now with a clear conscience and my feeling of self-righteousness firmly in place,  let's move on to the subject at hand. 

 

    Microsoft wants to work with Yahoo through a co-marketing alliance, and the Department of Justice has said "no way"... 

     So here I am, looking at the landscape from an analyst's perspective, and thinking of potential partners that would meet three crucial criteria:

 

      1) Interest Microsoft in a way that would help Bing

      2) Not interest the Department of Justice at all,

and most importantly…

     

      3) Would make search engines deliver more benefits to users like me!

    

      Now perhaps Senator Kohl is actually on to something by halting the "MicroHoo" alliance, but he just doesn't know why (my guess is blind luck!).  After all, if the market shares of Google and Microhoo wouldn't really change in the overall landscape, and if advertisers still have limited options for bidding their ad dollars - who gains anything by allowing Microsoft and Yahoo to play in each other's sandbox?  Yes - Yahoo gets a bit of a cash flow bump and Microsoft gets additional exposures for Bing ads - but does it really change anything for the end-user or the overall market?  No - not at all.    We are still stuck with two very similar search engines that look, feel, and basically work the same way.  We end-users don't lose anything, but we don't gain anything either.

 

     It seems the DOJ feels that if we are going to let Microsoft run rampant in the marketplace garden partnering or acquiring competitors at whim, at least they need to see that customers tangibly benefit somehow in the end.  And what's really wrong with companies combining efforts to create useful features, add more benefits, and show some new wrinkles in what is becoming the stale “me too” Internet search engine category?  Nothing.

 

     Microsoft recognizes the need to boost the marketing and ad revenue potential of their newly launched Bing.com.  The DOJ and Senator Kohl say there is nothing wrong with that, "but ya can't do it with Yahoo!".  So let's look at other things Microsoft actually can do. We begin by reflecting on something Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft himself quoted to the Associated Press back in November of 2008:

 

“If anybody thinks the future of search is going to look like the present search, that’s crazy. The user interface on search hasn’t changed for six years. You still get the same dull, boring 10 blue links, for God’s sake. Can’t we do any better than that?”

 

     I think that is a good place to start… and it brings me back to NeXplore.com.  For several months, I have been touting this visual and interactive search engine site for consumers. NexPlore features a marketing-driven architecture, while still delivering a painless and highly accurate search.  Though diminutive in size compared to Google, Microsoft, or Yahoo, NeXplore is one of the fastest growing sites on the planet.  They truly "get" what web marketing is all about.  They have some great ideas on how to improve the usefulness of the Internet.   As an unabashed capitalist, I want to see innovators rewarded for their work and great ideas - and no one is more deserving of a boost than the NeXplore team. If Microsoft spent a little more time looking at NeXplore, they might find a whole range of reasons why “MicroNex” could be a viable strategy. And best of all, the DOJ wouldn’t look twice....

 

     To illustrate Ballmer’s point, try this little experiment on your own.   Do a search for "Calling Card" on Google or Bing (or Ask, Yahoo, Mamma, or any other search engine).  As you might expect, the results returned are a bland list of websites and ads.  By clicking on one of the website addresses or an ad link, you may (or may not) find something useful to help with your actual search. 

 

     Now do that same "calling card" search on NeXplore.  The experience is totally different and far more useful.  Along with the common listing results, you also gain thumbnail previews of the websites without actually having to visit the site (the old "whitehouse.com" vs. "whitehouse.org" fiasco comes to mind!).  You also see a list of interaction options of what you can do with the results. For example, users can save links or ads, delete them, or share them with their friends… the electronic equivalent of ripping an ad from a magazine page at the doctors office for your next door neighbor to see.   How about a full browser mode preview of the links or ads? NexPlore does that too. And the ads from related merchants are quite different as well – and far more interactive. Advertisers can place multimedia direct response messages that play as the user’s mouse moves over their link.  Move the mouse elsewhere, and the ad goes away. Users can even interact in real-time directly with the advertiser by clicking on icons for chat, social networks, email or even by placing a call through Skype, simply by clicking the appropriate icon. Want to speak with a company representative about options or pricing fora certain product or service?  No need to copy down a number and type it into your phone later - just click the associated icon for Skype beneath the URL thumbnail and you’reconnected directly to the advertiser’s call center… How neat is that, Mr. Online Merchant?  

     Maybe this is what Ballmer had in mind? 

  

     We are adding value to the search engine, both for the user and the advertiser. We are talking about something that should make most advertisers consider bidding just a bit more for online advertising through a search engine with these kinds of features.  Bing.com could provide that functionality right now if they partnered with NeXplore. It would make Bing better. And it would make Bing more attractive to advertisers. And it would make me a more loyal Bing user!

 

      If Microsoft wants to boost Bing ad revenues, then  they need a compelling reason to make the advertising and SEO agencies consider shifting ad dollars their way. If Bing brings more value and more selling tools to the marketplace through an alliance with NeXplore, everyone wins. Microsoft would leap far ahead of the competition in terms of features, while benefiting their customer and marketing partners at the same time.  And NexPlore gains the market visibility that a big brother like Microsoft can deliver.

 

     Best of all for Microsoft, there is no way the DOJ or Senator Kohl would find anything objectionable to Microsoft + NexPlore alliance – even if they “Googled it”.