Microsoft + Yahoo Deal – a Bartz-Ballmer love child?

Plain simple. Microsoft and Yahoo seems to have struck a deal which may benefit each other.

References:

Throughout 2008’s on-again, off-again talks between Yahoo and Microsoft, many financial analysts declared the belief that some sort of deal–either Microsoft acquiring Yahoo outright or later just its search business–was a matter of when, not if. – CNet 28 April 2009
Yahoo and Microsoft, which held a marathon series of fruitless merger and partnership negotiations last year, have restarted discussions, this time over a possible advertising agreement, a person briefed on those discussions said Friday. – NY Times 10 April 2009
THE uneasy alliance between Yahoo and Microsoft, which will see Yahoo Search Marketing selling sponsored web links on Microsoft’s new search engine, called Bing, is looking rocky. – The Australian News 30 May 2009
Asked if the talks between Yahoo and Microsoft about an Internet search deal continue, Bartz replied “a little bit.” – Alibaba.com 1 June 2009

Clearly, Microsoft and Yahoo has agreed to disagree (on the acquisition/takeover), but also agree that they have a ‘common enemy’ named Google.

As such, situational relationships commonly result in sleeping together. And before you know it they had a baby.

This simply means that Yahoo gets better presented to the searchers, as clearly Bing tries to sway some of the Googlelovers which Yahoo search failed to; Microsoft gets real meaty materials for the search results (and most probably a part of the ad revenue).

Implications for the marketers: watch this space! If Bing does take off (and early reviews indicate this is quite a possibility) then it is time to get more serious on Yahoo! Search Marketing.

The real question is, as apparently is the risk with all childbirth, will the relationship become victim of postnatal depression?

Microsoft + Yahoo Deal – a Bartz-Ballmer love child?

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