[334] in Privacy_Forum
[ PRIVACY Forum ] Microsoft, Yahoo, and The Three Stooges
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (privacy@vortex.com)
Sat Feb 2 01:45:23 2008
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Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:48:41 -0800
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Microsoft, Yahoo, and The Three Stooges
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000366.html
Greetings. Despite all of the deep analysis bandied about today
regarding Microsoft's proposed buyout of Yahoo -- most of it framed
in terms of somehow creating a "Google Killer" combination -- I
still kept finding myself thinking about ... "The Three Stooges"!
In particular, the situation reminded me of a scene from the
Stooges' "Rumpus in the Harem" (yep, you can see it yourself at
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PD_rqheWhlA about 05:45 in from the clip
start).
The sequence features the Stooges standing on top of each other
mostly hidden under a tapestry. They attempt to intimidate their
way into possession of a valuable diamond, by claiming to be a
powerful, evil spirit. Of course, their "tower of power" -- after
putting on a pretty good show briefly -- ends up collapsing into a
pile on bodies on the floor.
You know where I'm going with this. And while I'm not directly
equating Moe or Shemp with MS or Yahoo, it's still a truism that
some attempts at combining forces result in a creation that is
actually less effective than the seeming sum of its parts.
We've seen this sort of disappointing (for stockholders, anyway)
outcome happen often enough -- the initially much ballyhooed AOL -
Time Warner merger is an obvious recent example.
Sometimes the operational fundamentals of combined firms just don't
create the promised synergies. Or even worse, like two similar
poles of a magnet brought together, a damaging repulsive force is
the actual result. This is especially likely when significantly
different management styles are firmly rooted within the associated
enterprises.
The financials of the proposed merger are way outside of my world,
and whether Yahoo will accept the offer, or Microsoft engage in a
hostile takeover attempt (Microsoft *hostile*?), I can't
predict. Nor will I consider here the regulatory, privacy, or
myriad other aspects of such a combined entity -- it's all a bit too
speculative for now.
But my gut feeling is that while Google of course always needs to
watch its back -- that's the price of being on top -- they may
actually have far less to really worry about from any MS-Yahoo
coupling than some of the more breathless commentaries I've seen
today have been suggesting.
A lot can go wrong when you attempt to merge disparate sorts of
personalities -- whether you're talking about individuals or
corporations.
This remains true whether you're in a boardroom gunning for Google,
or just trying to talk your way into possession of the Rootin Tootin
Diamond.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@vortex.com or lauren@pfir.org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
- People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
- Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
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