Rumor: Microsoft To Mimic Google And Yahoo In Online Ad Deal

from the third-time's-a-charm dept

When news first broke that DoubleClick was a likely to be acquired, the story was that Microsoft had initially sought to buy the company, which prompted Google to step in and steal the deal. Just yesterday, Yahoo went and bought itself its own online advertising firm, in a move that shadowed the DoubleClick deal. Amidst all of this, several analysts started playing the “who’s next” guessing game, as it seemed clear that Microsoft would be forced into making a deal of its own. Today there’s a rumor that Microsoft is mulling a $1 billion bid for 24/7 Media, a publicly traded firm that’s been at the center of much of the speculation, along with competing firm Aquantive. A possible wrinkle here is that 24/7 Media is also thought to be on the wish list of the WPP Group, a traditional advertising firm. If both rumors are true (and at this point, it’s hard to gauge their validity), it could set up an interesting battle between two companies with vastly different agendas, and ideas about what they’d do with the company.


Rate this comment as insightful
Rate this comment as funny
You have rated this comment as insightful
You have rated this comment as funny
Flag this comment as abusive/trolling/spam
You have flagged this comment
The first word has already been claimed
The last word has already been claimed
Insightful Lightbulb icon Funny Laughing icon Abusive/trolling/spam Flag icon Insightful badge Lightbulb icon Funny badge Laughing icon Comments icon

Comments on “Rumor: Microsoft To Mimic Google And Yahoo In Online Ad Deal”

Subscribe: RSS Leave a comment
5 Comments
RandomThoughts (user link) says:

The M&A activity is interesting, Microsoft will buy someone, rumors even have them buying Yahoo.

A big story that kind of has been buried though is the fundamental shift over at Google. Google has up until now, always kept consumers privacy and past history out of its product scope. Their position was that by utilizing prior history or cookies, would be an infringement on its users privacy. The recent purchase of DCLK and other announcements made by Google, support that now Google will begin utilizing Behavioral targeting tactics to increase its relevancy. This is a huge shift in its culture for the one time “do good, don’t do evil” behemoth.

HostWW (user link) says:

Who says you have to?

Who says you have to use any of the services that utilize anything that tracks you…

Google Searches != Having a Google Account

And as for the cookies issue with Doubleclick… get with the times… Learn to block cookies not originating from the site you’re visiting and/or filter ad cookies… its nothing new…

😛

http://www.w3.org/Security/Faq/wwwsf2.html#CLT-Q10

Add Your Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here

Comment Options:

Make this the or (get credits or sign in to see balance) what's this?

What's this?

Techdirt community members with Techdirt Credits can spotlight a comment as either the "First Word" or "Last Word" on a particular comment thread. Credits can be purchased at the Techdirt Insider Shop »

Follow Techdirt

Techdirt Daily Newsletter

Ctrl-Alt-Speech

A weekly news podcast from
Mike Masnick & Ben Whitelaw

Subscribe now to Ctrl-Alt-Speech »
Techdirt Deals
Techdirt Insider Discord
The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...
Loading...