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    • Thanks for the comment Jim. First, what is I interesting is your use cases for Twitter and Facebook are very close to the opposite on my usage patterns. My Facebook exchanges are much more informal...

      3 weeks ago by loupaglia

      in Analogy of Status Updates

    • Hey Lou- Interesting thought. Not sure if this point will validate or run counter to your argument: Have you noticed how Facebook status is not the same as Twitter status? I used to have my Twitter...

      3 weeks ago by Jim Bernard

      in Analogy of Status Updates

    • This hits home to me. Innovation often happens in the confines of core competency and consequently overlooked. We often suffer from sensory fatigue. You know.... Losing sight of why customers...

      1 month ago by Greg Merkle

      in “We put the ‘no’ in innovation”

    • Thanks Ron. As far as the FriendFeed widget, just part of the template I am using and then using the width to get the FF widget to go across.

      2 months ago by loupaglia

      in A Project to Root For

    • I like your blog a lot. Is it an extra feature for premium members to show your FriendFeed widget to go across the two side bars like that? Thanks for your response in advance.

      2 months ago by RON08

      in A Project to Root For

loupaglia

paglia’s thoughts: “one to negative one” and some noise in between
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Why does Microsoft Need to Play in Search?

Started by loupaglia · 1 year ago

No excerpt available. Jump to website »

4 comments

  • KM

    1 year ago

    Hi Lou,

    One reason Microsoft may want to play in search is purely defensive - if Google gets too strong via search, they can use that cash flow to attack other Microsoft businesses.

    Also, digital advertising is too big a market to ignore.
    reply
  • loupaglia

    1 year ago

    KM: Thank you for the comment, much appreciated.

    However, my view is that Microsoft could make that argument about anything technology-oriented. And one argument to that would be that is all the more reason for Microsoft to be investing this time, energy and capital into developing adjacent lines of business to their core, and thus further developing defensible barriers to others, including Google.

    As far as the advertising market being too big to ignore? Again, that debate could be made to any big technology-oriented market. Why aren't they developing Microsoft Biotechnology Organization and taking on Genentech and Biogen. It is a big market, it is around technology albeit I will admit a wider diversion technologically than software and web search.

    Why not consider building a web-based office suite, ASP-based and targeting SMB marketplace, making it also ad-supported. Instead they let Google in that door with Apps while they've been spending five years competing with them head-on in Google's core competency.
    reply
  • KM

    1 year ago

    Believe it or not, MSFT is noodling in biotech, more on the genetic analytics side. And they are starting to tackle SMBs also with Office Live Small Business. When you have a $60B+ business, one has to make a portfolio of bets across businesses...big bets...because not all of them will work.

    One knock against MSFT is exactly what you've captured...that they are all over the place...

    I enjoy your blog...cheers...
    reply
  • loupaglia

    1 year ago

    Thank you, I appreciate your readership.

    And I couldn't agree more that with a $60B business, you have to drive new businesses and make big bets within them. My perspective is simply that they do it inline with some a core strategy of who Microsoft is and inline with what the future Microsoft is to be. As you said "they are all over the place".

    On the flip side of this argument, I do have to admit if they followed singular logic, we would have never seen the likes of the XBox, a bet that worked for them. And I do like where are heading in this regard by really trying to build a comprehensive digital home strategy around the XBox penetration that they've made.
    reply

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