Yahoogle? Well, not exactly. The years haven’t been kind to the once mighty Yahoo! but after the ungracious firing of ex-CEO Carol Bartz, the fourth most visited website in the U.S. is getting downright desperate. Unable to keep pace with Google in search and advertising, Yahoo! has been looking for help from investors to inject some cash and fuel innovation and a badly needed redirection. Is Google coming to the rescue?
Sort of. It’s no secret that Google has been facing international anti-trust pressure, and with the slow and meandering death of Yahoo!, Google is losing it’s best claim for competition within the search and advertising markets. Google has decided to open its war chest to facilitate bidders looking to acquire Yahoo! in an effort to spur competition from the internet company.
It’s not a totally original idea, and in fact, there is evidence that this could stimulate the kind of competition that Google claims to want. In 1997, Microsoft invested $150 million into the once struggling Apple to stave off anti-trust litigation. At the time Microsoft probably thought it was a safe bet, not expecting Apple to become the behemoth it is today. Can we expect the same kind of resurgence from Yahoo! if they are acquired by private holding companies or even Microsoft (a possibility that is regaining traction)? Doubtful, but we can probably expect a serious effort.
Yahoo! will soon be changing hands, and as a result will probably make some drastic changes with the new influx of cash. Perhaps they will be able to lure a new rock star CEO to truly turn this beast around. With the correct leadership, Yahoo! may have the resources and talent to bring a game-changer to the table and give Google a run for its money. What could it be? Social? Enterprise?
Who knows, maybe we’ll see Yahoogle yet — and maybe it will be after Yahoo! acquires the big G.
…Haha, right…
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