DISQUS

James Murphy · 1 year ago

Getting a bit bored with the video obsession - not just you, everyone - I really need to write this up at length...

Jamiet · 1 year ago

Robert,
I can't help feeling you're missing the point slightly. Microsoft core business isn't in building vertical applications. They build platforms so that OTHER people can build vertical applications. They're trying to get into the vertical-application-on-the-web-game by buying Yahoo. THAT is Ballmer's vision.

Now I'm not saying they're doing a good job of building that platform or that its the right strategy (I wish I knew the anser to that one), but let's be clear about what their strategy is, rightly or wrongly.

-Jamie

stuart · 1 year ago

I actually find Yahoo quite interesting too - they seem to have lots of niche sites under the belts already and they always seem to be releasing small, exciting projects, like that Buzz site, or their video streaming site. Microsoft just haven't done anything exciting recently, unless you count all their *big* stuff which they talk about but we won't see for years...

Robert Scoble · 1 year ago

James: I hear that, but go do a random Google search. Do you see video there? No. I'd bet there's video on only one out of 300 searches, if that high.

So, until there's a video on EVERY search, there's a lot more opportunity for video to see huge growth than there is for anything else.

Also, if I'm going to convince you to try something new, what works better? Video or text?

Let's talk about travel around the world. What will convince you to visit, say, Switzerland? 10,000 words? Or five minutes of video.

I know which one works better. Video. By far.

So, expect to hear more about video in this new search world ahead.

Robert Scoble · 1 year ago

Stuart: I will admit that Yahoo has a much nicer Travel site: http://travel.yahoo.com/ than Google or Microsoft does. Maybe this is why Microsoft wants Yahoo so badly.

Jamiet · 1 year ago

Am I barred or something? I posted a comment here about 10mins ago and it isn't showing up. Not for the first time.

Have I upset you or something Robert? :)

Robert Scoble · 1 year ago

Someone just told me to check out MiniMicrosoft. I haven't been there in months, maybe even a year or more. But damn, the natives are certainly restless about this deal: http://minimsft.blogspot.com/

Olav · 1 year ago

Why do you think you have the right answers to every Microsoft problem? You should be one of those billionaires then.

Wolf · 1 year ago

You fail to see that building a good website doesn't take a lot of money, just splendid idea and execution. You can't buy everything with cold hard cash.

Robert Scoble · 1 year ago

Olav: I'm working on it. Heheh.

Seriously, though, the billionaires at Microsoft got there by selling Windows or Office.

What does THAT have to do with building a great Web property and putting advertising on it?

Johnny Sutherland · 1 year ago

I don't know how to contact you - but I think Google.com has been hacked. The home page has only greek text on it. I am in Germany. Sorry for posting something here that is no relevant.

Johnny Sutherland · 1 year ago

In fact, all services on the google.com url are not available. The google.de is functioning as normal.

Robert Scoble · 1 year ago

Johnny: weird, here Google.com is working fine.

Jack @ The Tech Teapot · 1 year ago

Microsoft writing niche websites...oh come on... Microsoft are a mega multi-billion dollar corporation why would they be interested in the peanuts they can earn from niches? A better home for their billions might be Facebook that they already have shares in?

Maurice · 1 year ago

well what ms needs to do is buy yahoo dump msn search and but the best techies into improving yahoos se and add system

Not nice fo rthos working in the bits of Ms that are duplicated in yahoo but hey that capatisiam for you :-)

But google realy should try and not atract the regulators attention WTF are they thinking with that yahoo idea where is the adult supervison.

Its a bit like walking around downtown bagdad with a tshirt saying hi ime stupid please shoot me"

Robert Scoble · 1 year ago

Jack: you think travel is just peanuts? Yeah, right. So why did Microsoft buy Farecast if it's just "peanuts?"

Yuvi · 1 year ago

As someone who likes MS tools a "lot" (I use them day in and day out), I just wish, secretly, that someone like ScottGu takes the lead. Where's the slicehost for Windows? The twitter that's built on .NET? Microsoft needs to do a lot for these, than dumping money into Live.

The cool stuff that's come out of Live so far have been small things - Photo Gallery, Writer are the two that I can name, because I just can't think of myself using anything more too seriously.

Just wish they went out and bought Automattic, Twitter, FriendFeed, and something that can stand up to flickr before it's too late. I still hate 'em for passing up on flickr (Their API is full of bugs :()

Yuvi · 1 year ago

Also, note that the contents of the above note have a pretty low probability of happening.

Zonk · 1 year ago

James: Agree 100% This is the first Scoble article I've paid attention to in months. Why? The video sucks. Most of the time it doesn't play back properly. The motion makes me want to puke. The audio is obnoxious with bursts of volume. Getting close to moving Robert into a "read if you have time" rss folder.

That said, here's my take on M$:

They will never get over the Evil Empire stigma. They can't innovate. They should keep their core business to the fat apps and rather than acquire lots of little companies, they should have controlling shares in a lot of little companies. Let the new companies establish their own brands and keep the money flowing to the mothership.

M$ owns a piece of FB ... they should increase it, but not the point that FB looks like it's a M$ company. Likewise with the 400 other interesting internet companies out there.

Lever owns Dove Soap *and* Axe Spray ... two totally different company messages but all the money flows back to the mothership without appearing evil.

Robert Scoble · 1 year ago

Yuvi: they'll never do what you suggest. These things are too small for Microsoft to ever understand or get. That's why they are interesting to you and me, but not to Microsoft.

Cains · 1 year ago

I expect Google to build niche sites similar to Google Finance (underappreciated site). This is where Google really 'gets it', when Google goes into a niche it drives traffic to your site as a platform to help users find your content. With Yahoo & MS you're still in a walled garden.

Google builds platforms, not portals.

quirkyalone · 1 year ago

If I would be Ballmer, I'd propably just pour more millions into Search, since that's where the ads money will be. MSFT inability to compete with G is a huge disadvantage in the fight of online ads dollars.

Yuvi · 1 year ago

Scoble, but who *is* Microsoft then? Ballmer? Ray?

Brett Atkin · 1 year ago

I think their real problem is that they can't do anything simple. I meet with a group of web developers about once a month just to exchange ideas and catch up on technology. I'm the only PC guy. There is always some talk about some new cool little app that meets a simple need. I get all excited until I see that it is Mac only. Damn. I want a freak'n Mac just so I can try out these things. Same goes for web sites. Simple always wins me over - probably why I like the apps from 37 Signals.

I've been using Word (I'd give anything to try Pages - based on what I hear the Mac guys say) more lately to improve my proposals. I can't get through a document without Word deciding to change the indent and style of my bullets or ordered lists on a consistenly random basis :-).

Their programs aren't easy to us and their web apps aren't easy to use. They can't do anything simple. Get the simple things to work correctly and then add featues/complexity.

What does it say about MS (or Yahoo or Google or...) that 3-4 guys/girls sitting in their dorm room or basement can design some of the most successful and popular web apps out there (Facebook, Digg, Flickr, Twitter)? Apparently money and PhD's aren't everything.

Everyone in MS needs to learn how to K.I.S.S. Until they do, they are going to continue to build boring apps (online and off) that just don't work well.

Matt · 1 year ago

Microsoft is where cool internet ideas go to die. It's a culture issue, Microsoft is just too big to care about any individual internet idea, everything is just seen as features or marketshare to integrate into the borg. If they do end up acquiring Yahoo, if anything, it will be a boon for startups offering competing services, ie Flickr, Yahoo finance, Yahoo mail...

Dileepa P · 1 year ago

Microsoft just doesn't get the web. Microsoft's way of working is to invent problems first and then try and solve them. Recent examples: The 'new' Windows Live Hotmail. I am yet to see anything as bad as that. Even more recent: Live Mesh.

Grand vision will not take them anywhere. They have to do the small things right first.

Christopher Coulter · 1 year ago

the natives are certainly restless about this deal

I guess your "good for morale" contention is now moot? ;)

Amazing how, every other post, gets invalidated every other day.

Predicting that you will start cursing Twitter in 5-6 weeks or so.

SearchEngines · 1 year ago

If you knew so much - wouldn't YOU be the one achieving, instead of telling them how to run their business.

It is easy to theoretically criticize when you are on the outside looking in - things are a lot more complex than that in the real world

Dennis Hays · 1 year ago

I think you found the real problem when you said, "I find that Google listens a lot more than Yahoo or Microsoft does."

Reacting to Google, et al, or building from Microsoft's viewpoint delivers a solution looking for a problem. Ballmer, from recent comments, at least publicly, regarding XP, is espousing the corporate view.

When you're attempting to satisfy investors, rather than the user community, it's a losing proposition.

Robert Scoble · 1 year ago

SearchEngines: you're right. We shouldn't listen to people who haven't achieved anything.

Sounds just like a Microsoft manager. Sigh.

Christopher Coulter: like SearchEngines says. It's a complex world and people who see things as black and white rarely succeed. Steve Jobs excepted.

Robert Scoble · 1 year ago

quirkyalone yeah, that's why he's trying to buy Yahoo. His search team isn't very good and, even if you close one eye and squint and say that Microsoft's relevancy is catching up to Google's then there's that problem of branding, isn't that? Yahooo!!!

Robert Scoble · 1 year ago

Yuvi: there isn't one Microsoft. It's impossible to say one person is running Microsoft. It's more like a committee. But Ballmer is clearly in charge of the money and the buy Yahoo strategy, so if there's one person now who is defining Microsoft I'd say it's him. Ray is clearly building part of the Internet strategy. Scott Guthrie another part. Steven Sinofsky the Windows part. Dean Hachamovitch another part. And I'm forgetting the folks who lead the Office team and the other billion dollar businesses at Microsoft: Xbox, phones, SQL Server, etc.

And even then, it's 70,000 people. Our idea of business run by a few people is sorta outdated. I looked at the ideas coming in from the ranks right before I left. Very few Internet ideas.

burdenofcompetence · 1 year ago

I did hear that Microsoft bought Farecast, which sucks because I really liked that site. But your post is spot on...SPOT ON. But you know the Microsoft culture, if it isn't a $billion it's not a real business. You're totally right, and right to say that of course they're not listening.

It's so simple · 1 year ago

I wonder why Ballmer, Gates, Ozzie & co don't take advice from a video blogger who bailed out of a failed startup (He was a VP, no less)

Jonathan · 1 year ago

I'm bored with Google. I use Google search for searching, email and directions. I could care less about Google reader, Google travel, google phone, Google finance, Google checkout, Google TV, YouTube, and everything else. In fact now with my new GPS I care less and less about Google maps.
I want a search engine that searchs quick and fast without a lot of links to other crap, especially paid for crap that doesn't make sense with what I'm searching
I want to be able to access my information on my home computer, my work computer (whether I boot into Linux or Vista), my smartphone, and to share information with my wife and her Mac. I want it to just work....


I'm excited for Live Mesh.... Just wish I could get invited to see if it works like I want it to

John F. Braggiotti · 1 year ago

Microsoft is starting to follow the same paterns of mistakes large companies make...get into businesses they have no business getting into....I am sure most of you have noticed how the software's Microsoft has put out in the last 10 years have started to dwindle in quality....stay focused is the name of the game...the market is simply to big to do all

Gosh I love developing small companies!

www.jbraggiotti.com

Edwin Khodabakchian · 1 year ago

Robert: don't be to frustrated. It is a more effective strategy for larger companies to way to innovative solutions to mature and become mainstream before they acquire them. The core competency of larger companies is to integrate and sell. It is not sexy but it is the only way to grow by 10-20% and keep the shareholders happy. There is only one company which does not obey by this rule, Apple. Even Google ended up acquiring YouTube and Double Click. Do you know of any other one?

metroxing · 1 year ago

MS is built upon a foundation of arrogance (not necessarily a problem, most Wall Street companies are built on that foundation) BUT MS's problem is that all the innovators have left leaving only those who value a paycheck & people good at creating tiny kingdoms (aka: bureaucrats) ... there is nothing worse than arrogant bureaucrats. The end result are products like the Zune & Vista. Nothing really abolustely wrong with them but like the DMV, it meets the bare minimum requirement. Ms buying Yahoo is a disaster in the making because it will deplete MS's cash reserve and the cash flow margin is drying up ... what is going to happen? 50% of Yahoo's visitors are people who loathe MS so it's not like buying some middleware company where its customers are not about to spend 3 times to leave ... gee, where will people find free email or the weather? People will leave in literally 5-seconds. And MS will drive aother 40% away by insisting people sign up for a LIve account before being able to read their Yahoo email ... and a few months after all, the arrogant bureaucrats will proclaim that Yahoo is a stupid name and diluting LIVE so they will fold everything in LIVE or MSN or some other new name ... so basically MS will have spent $45 billion to buy an additional 10% visitors who are unable to leave because they don't know how. This should be the death knell for MS if they continue down this path. Ballmer knows his legacy right now is the sweaty guy who throws stuff and he wants to come off as the guy who took down Google ... he's desperate to prove his legacy ... are MS shareholders willing to bet $45 billion he's smart enough and smarter than the Google guys even though as head of MS since 2000, what has he accomplished other than being the biggest bureaucrat of all?

lewisshepherd · 1 year ago

Robert, your leadership analysis is forgetting Craig Mundie. To my mind he's fairly central and more future-oriented than anyone save Ozzie; that pair has a pretty savvy grasp on where MS will be in 5 years... (and where others will be falling short over that time, enough said).

Jean · 1 year ago

Haha, good one Metrox. Nobody I know uses IE 7.... everybody uses Firefox.... There are sad times ahead for Microsoft when this starts happening. They should be using their money to hold onto the those key individuals instead of trying to pull off deals like Yahoo.

I personally hope Microsoft wake up and smell the coffee before it is too late.

Danny · 1 year ago

Niche web sites by definition have a niche market. MS is a multi-billion dollar company. So, the first question that should, and will be asked by the CEO, the Board of Directors and the shareholders is" "If we follow the advice of the random video blogger that was unable to make his company that focused entirely on video as success, how much money is on the table to get from niche web sites? How do we monetize them?"

For example, how much profit is Facebook and Twitter taking in. How much profit is FriendFeed taking in.

MS needs to focus on what is knows, which is not building niche web sites that appeal to a miniscule market. Look at the books and look where they make their money.

eng1ne · 1 year ago

Regarding MS building a scalable web site. I think that MS knows how to build a web site that is almost bulletproof. Scalability isn't really the question though.. they know how to build big, and fast, and unbreakable.

I don't think they have a clue how to do narrow, focused and viral though. Like you said.. look at live spaces. How is that more compelling than WP?

Connor F. Feldman · 1 year ago

I agree. MS buying Yahoo is extremely boring.

TheTravk · 1 year ago

Thank you for the good information.

mayon · 1 year ago

lets the big head just be a big head.
they never learn until they fall.

Nimish · 1 year ago

I know I'm a little late on this but there's one thing I don't understand - why is microsoft hell-bent on competing with google in the field of search? Shouldn't they be working their butts off on building an OS that competes with Mac? Because, as I see it, if they don't come out with an awesome OS with great software soon, Apple is going to take-over. I guess they have to choose between the search-market and the OS-market now, because it really doesn't look like they can handle both...

JKav · 1 year ago

waaaaah