Epic War: Tough Spot for Yahoo; Microsoft Occupation of Silicon Valley??

Mike Arrington had a great post this morning on Yahoo’s decision time.   Love the war reference. Mike agrees that Silicon Valley will be a war zone with collateral damage. The rats are already leaving the ship as predicted by Josh Kopelmans post today.   I’ve always loved Yahoo, but no matter what happens their fate is sealed.

The Microsoft invasion is happening and Google isn’t Netscape. Google is executing. This war will certainly be epic.

I’ve said that you can’t compare this Microsoft to Microsoft of the mid 90’s, and you can’t compare Google today to Netscape of yesterday.  Google is excuting and Yahoo isn’t.  It won’t be an easy fight for Microsoft.

As an aside I received an interesting comment from a Microsoft insider the other day.  He says “Since you’re thinking about MSFT/YHOO, my 2c: First, it’s a $44 billion admission that MS couldn’t get search and advertising right. Second, the culture clash will be dramatic. The only good part about it is that MSN could never decide if it wanted to be Google (alpha engineers) or Yahoo (content gods); now they’ve implicitly chosen the latter. We’ll see if that works. The trailblazers are actually aQuantive. They were assured that the MS engineers would do what the aQuantive biz people decided. Too early to tell if that’ll actually work, but it’ll be a leading indicator for the success of the YHOO acquisition. I’m not sanguine…”

The next logical question in this epic battle is “who is leading the troops for Microsoft”?  Looking at Microsoft leadership (the generals) will speak volumes about their plans to occupy Silicon Valley.  

Microsoft’s War: Google is NOT Netscape. People: Please Stop the Comparison.

Joe Nocera of the New York Times writes that Microsoft is really a tired competitor.  Not sure I agree that Microsoft doesn’t have the weaponry – under the right battle plan I think that they can compete and surpass Google.  What I am sure of is that Microsoft will not “kill” Google.    Nevertheless, Google isn’t Netscape. 

Although there are many differences between Google and Netscape, the big difference is that Google is a multifaceted cash producing machine and Netscape was a one trick poney – the browser.  Netscape was an easy target for Microsoft at that time.  Today, Microsoft is fighting a different competitor.  Google has great cash flow and control of the most coveted market –  online advertising.  This fight for Microsoft is to the death.  Microsoft is the underdog not Google.  A case can be made that Microsoft is the Netscape and Google the old Microsoft – the tables are turned.    It’s going to get bloody.

 As I mentioned yesterday Microsoft is officially waging “War” against Google, Microsoft needs Yahoo.  Why?  Two reasons:  it’s search position and it’s user base of registered users.  The rest of Yahoo will fall into a product group or get ‘whacked’.   If this buyout goes down in Microsoft’s favor , then there will be a ‘ton’ of collateral damage at Yahoo.

WAR! Microsoft Officially Declares WAR on Google! Microsoft Makes $44.6 Billion Dollar Bid For Yahoo!

As the president ial elec tions (can use those political keywords because of a Techmeme flaw) is down to two person races, the Internet battle has been waged.  WAR!  It’s official.  It’s now a two company race:  Google and Microsoft.

I’ve been seeing the battle of the titans coming for sometime, but this is the open gambit of a World War between Microsoft and Google. – the rest of the Internet world is whitespace. 

I was writing up a review on the Google earnings while on a plane coming back from Flordia to Houston.   Two words sum this up: holy shit.

More to come… I have to get on a plane to SJC from Houston.  Unbelievable with impact to all.  This is an A-bomb.  It will affect big companies and startups.  Wow.