It seems that Yahoo! has been able to avoid the attempts of Microsoft to buy them up. Certainly it makes Microsoft look the major loser in all of this however is Yahoo! really the victor?

Share prices of both Yahoo! and Microsoft are likely to drop because of this and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Google prices rise.

Yahoo! gets to keep it’s independence but the question is for how long? Their market share has been dropping steady and with Google’s dominance of the search market it’s not easy for either Yahoo! or Microsoft to get a foothold against the search leader.

I actually think the failure of this potential merger is in the long term going to be damaging for both Microsoft and Yahoo! We can only hope that individually they can make up some ground against Google otherwise the monopoly Google could exercise could be very dangerous for online community in general.

Comments on a post about this on BBC News dot.life shows I’m not the only one with this belief. I’ve got to say I’m a little disappointed as I was very interested to see how the two different cultures of Microsoft and Yahoo! would combine - what kind of company would Microhoo! have been?

Another update on the search engine wars! It seems Yahoo! is trying to jump into bed with Google to avoid the smothering embrace of Microsoft.

However with their joint market share amounting to about 90% there is no way this is going to be allowed by the powers that be and I believe not in the interest of the market as a whole. There is an excellent article on the BBC that goes into all the detail you’d need about this and I agree with every point.

Now there are rumblings that AOL might be interested in teaming up with Yahoo! and even Rupert Murdoch might team up with Microsoft for the bid for Yahoo!

Personally I think AOL and Yahoo! isn’t going to change a thing there certainly isn’t any chance of eating into Google’s share.

Yahoo! are obviously terrified to be swallowed up by Microsoft (I’m sure it would cease to exist) but I can see this as the only option if we’re not going to have a single company with a monopoly on the market. I’m not even sure if it’s too late now. Whatever Google’s reputation this isn’t good for the market and stifles innovation.

Another month another set of figures. It seems Google’s share in the search market keeps increasing now up to 67% or 69% (3.12% or 4.7% increase in a year) depending which source you believe. Yahoo! saw drops of approximately 1% or 4%. Microsoft Live is not conclusive as one source reports an increase and one a decrease.

With the talk of a Microsoft take over of Yahoo! maybe these figures show that the two are losing track of their rival. Sharing their expertise might just give them the edge to catch up or at least put up more of a fight.

Although some don’t like the idea of two super-giants in this market I’m inclined to prefer this over a single dominant force that no one can touch. Lets face it Google can make or break businesses online.

Google was formulated on the principle “Don’t be evil” and has tried to keep to this throughout their rise. However more recently people are beginning to question this and I really have to disagree.

I don’t think it comes down to being good or evil life just isn’t that black and white. Google is a massive company now and it just comes down to good business. So I disagree that Google is good and I disagree that Google is evil.

In much the same way Microsoft is seen as the evil empire by most people and Apple whiter than white when this is far from the case for both.

All companies have to make money, and as much money as they possibly can. The problem is when a company gets so large or has such a large share of a market then some actions could be seen as anti-competitive. However depending on the company’s reputation it seems these actions that step over the line are treated in different ways.

Take Google for example, with their squeaky clean image they have been appalled by the prospective takeover of Yahoo! by Microsoft. Was this because of the potential damage to the openness of the Internet or because it would put Microhoo! on a more equal footing with Google current strangle hold?

An entry posted on the Google blog by David Drummond titled “Yahoo! and the future of the Internet” certainly raises questions but the same could be asked of Google so what makes them “holier than thou”?

Google’s recent acquisition of DoubleClick has surely got to raise more questions but seems to be more low key maybe because of Google’s good guy reputation even though Google now controls 69% of the online advertising market!

Apple too seems to have this “do no wrong” reputation even though having, in my opinion, just as serious anti-competitive tactics with the iPod - iTunes system as Microsoft has done in the past. Still you’ve got to admire the best marketing in the World bar none as really this hasn’t got the column inches you’d expect!

I believe people should really take a step back and take a long hard look before passing judgement based on image (or in some cases bordering on religious zealotry). These are all huge companies that look after themselves first there is no good or evil it’s just business - get over it.