Who’s Google? It’s the world’s most popular internet search engine, that is backed by a complex algorithm that was developed by geniuses with computers, Larry Page and Sergey Brin - the founders. They’re the leaders of search, but today the question is … for how long? Very long I think.

According to comScore’s latest figures the US search market is dominated with a stunning 61.5% by Google, then we have Yahoo with 20.9%, 9.2% for MSN, 4.3% for Ask.com and 4.1% for Aol. But where are those dot.com startups that want to revolutionize the industry? Where’s Mahalo or Cuil or Quintura? There’s probably a reason why I can’t find them on the list, right?

Google is going to stay king over search for a long time because their system is very good. Not flawless, but very good. But will they stay there forever? Probably not. Why? Microsoft and Yahoo! are always looking for some hot startups - with great ideas - to buy. Live Search from MSFT is getting better and better after they bought Powerset.

Another way of dethroning Google is to make it return bad results. I’m not talking of those people trying to spam their listings - it’s only available for a few hours/days and when found, it goes down. I’m talking about major websites asking to be removed from the search results. But who’s going to do that? Probably no one!

If Microsoft and Yahoo should learn anything from Google’s initial success, it’s that getting “rid” of users quickly is more important than keeping them searching. Sure, it sounds counter-intuitive, but it worked for Google - ArsTechinca

Remember all the hype around Microsoft acquiring Yahoo? It’s back. Steve Ballmer has come with a new round of negotiations. The new deal refers only to Yahoo’s search engine along with the search marketing business. All the others groups of the company would remain in Yahoo’s yard.

This new deal seems to please Microsoft’s stockholders which were not too happy with the first one. On the other hand, Yahoo’s stockholders have put pressure on their board of directors which have not too many choices at the moment. Thus, the transaction could go as fast as we can imagine. Obviously, Microsoft would pay much under the $40+ billion full buyout. Tech Crunch editor suggested Yahoo’s board of directos could go back for the former deal, but I don’t think they want that. We shall see.

via TechCrunch

After Microsoft’s offer of acquiring Yahoo, here comes the real buzz story. Yahoo releases a social bookmarking extension called Yahoo Buzz. It looks like a Digg clone, but more than rating news and articles, Yahoo Buzz combines the search relevancy with users voting to give a story a Buzz Score.

Social networking success has attracted Yahoo in the business. The company didn’t end too well last year, but now after rejecting Microsoft proposal, its name has gained popularity and sympathy. Currently Yahoo Buzz is in beta and includes content from nearly 100 publishers, each of which has a “badge” that lets readers vote and submit stories to Buzz in real-time. The users will generate a “BuzzScore” while rating the news stories, videos, images, or blog posts on the Web. The company said, the algorithm will include the top stories in a good placement on Yahoo.com. As an additional option, Yahoo Buzz will also allow users to submit Buzz stories to social new sites such as Digg, Facebook, Reddit, and StumbleUpon.

Yahoo plans to develop a new ecosystem based on Yahoo Buzz. It will develop new syndication and monetization tools for publishers who share relevant content and advertisers. I like this new idea and I am sure Yahoo will certainly create some buzz.

via Yahoo News

Huge news on the market! Microsoft has made an official bid to buy the giant Yahoo. Competing with Google Inc. isn’t so funny lately. Google has acquired so many online services that Microsoft and Yahoo remained far behind. Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said the company will bid $31 per share, the total offer reaching the amazing amount of $44.6 billion.

Yahoo has received an official letter with the proposed deal, making its share price go up 54 percent in premarket trading. If the Yahoo board accepts the transaction, the shareholders could choose to receive cash or Microsoft common shares, with the total purchase consisting of 50 percent each cash and stock.

According to the letter, Ballmer made a proposal last year, but Yahoo board’s felt it was not the right time. They believed in the success “on a reformulated strategy based on certain operational initiatives, such as Project Panama, and a significant organizational realignment.” Unfortunately, nothing changed since last year and Yahoo might go for the deal. The Chief Executive Jerry Yang said this week the company will cut 1,000 jobs, or 7 percent of its work force, in an effort to cut costs.