Wednesday, February 20, 2008
contingency firms v/s retainer firms
While going through the emails I received last week, I could see some recruiter emails - some from contingency firms and some from retainer firms. This got me curious on digging on the net for finding the differences in how they operate. Click here to read a good differentiation.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
par excellence
Google doesn't stop to impress me with their products. The newest one which impressed me was the ability to give a certain name to a tab in iGoogle and get related widgets automatically.
Here's how it works. If you are signed in the iGoogle webpage, click on Add a Tab. Give it a title, say notes. You will see a tab with multiple notes gadgets. I thought may be this was too obvious. So, I went ahead and added a tab called India. Huge number of widgets came up on that tab ! Same with stocks, technology management, etc !
This is amazing new step to keep Google users stuck to its page !!!
Here's how it works. If you are signed in the iGoogle webpage, click on Add a Tab. Give it a title, say notes. You will see a tab with multiple notes gadgets. I thought may be this was too obvious. So, I went ahead and added a tab called India. Huge number of widgets came up on that tab ! Same with stocks, technology management, etc !
This is amazing new step to keep Google users stuck to its page !!!
Friday, February 01, 2008
microhoooooo
Microsoft bid for Yahoo at $31 a share in a bid to gain some market share in the rapidly evolving online ad industry.
An earlier post on this blog here, expressed the possibility of consolidation with Microsoft buying Yahoo. Microsoft senior leadership was astute and kept this possibility on bay for a while. They made their move with an unsolicited bid when the Yahoo stock was beaten down due to lacklustre performance by Yang and the Gang. Larry Ellison moves in similar ways.
The media expressed that there may be anti-trust problems. Now, you gotta be kidding me! Together Microsoft and Yahoo will cover only a quarter of the total space that Google commands. I learnt at least this much in my Business Law class from Prof Hersch. I am not sure why the popular media made these comments. This just indicates how the media runs hurriedly to create sensational headlines rather than providing any thought to it. None other than CNBC said this and other channels followed suit ! This sad display of journalism reminds me of Prof Chris Telmer, who used to rip apart the pink press (financial press) for spreading false notions in the minds of the naive readers. Astute and educated investors read most of the pink media with a grain of salt due to such incidents.
Of course, Yahoo and Microsoft have huge share of email accounts. However, I am not yet sure if they have good enough products to target ads in that fashion. If they build it together, they will save money on building that. May be both already have products in the pipeline...who knows.
Going ahead, we will witness some interesting times in the search space.
1. MSN Money must leverage Yahoo Finance for their content but not the UI. The international market and eye balls (remember - Jewels at the bottom of the pyramid!) that MSN Money will get with the inclusion of Yahoo Finance content on MSN Money will surpass that of Google Finance easily.
Google Finance does not have any grip in the foreign markets - for instance, the Indian market. Whereas Yahoo Finance has a good set of data (though there is room for improvement for the international markets. Besides they roll no the RIC codes and hence, have a standardized convention for naming the stocks.
2. We will have a very colorful time watching the titans clash for the online ads market. MSFT has been ramping up its Live Search staff with good talent from around the globe. They have some way to go in order to make themselves equivalent to that of GOOG. However, they are on the right path.
3. Will MSFT be able to retain the top talent from YHOO? or will they be bought away by GOOG or facebook? Time will tell. Most of the sources I talk in Yahoo with tell me that they will not like to work for MSFT given that when they chose their careers - they had a choice and they actively chose YHOO over MSFT.
Another take on it is that this was a la The Art of War move by MSFT in which MSFT doesn't engage YHOO into a battle but just surrounds it. YHOO has nowhere to go. Mr. Yang and Gang could not maintain a high valuation for the ailing online giant. GOOG cannot make a bid as they dont want another regulator hassle from the DOJ for another anti-trust trial (this time it will be fatal).
In conclusion, 31 bucks a share is not a bad price to pay considering the additional steady revenues it will bring in. Microsoft senior leadership was astute and kept this possibility on bay for a while. Let us see how YHOO responds to this bid.
An earlier post on this blog here, expressed the possibility of consolidation with Microsoft buying Yahoo. Microsoft senior leadership was astute and kept this possibility on bay for a while. They made their move with an unsolicited bid when the Yahoo stock was beaten down due to lacklustre performance by Yang and the Gang. Larry Ellison moves in similar ways.
The media expressed that there may be anti-trust problems. Now, you gotta be kidding me! Together Microsoft and Yahoo will cover only a quarter of the total space that Google commands. I learnt at least this much in my Business Law class from Prof Hersch. I am not sure why the popular media made these comments. This just indicates how the media runs hurriedly to create sensational headlines rather than providing any thought to it. None other than CNBC said this and other channels followed suit ! This sad display of journalism reminds me of Prof Chris Telmer, who used to rip apart the pink press (financial press) for spreading false notions in the minds of the naive readers. Astute and educated investors read most of the pink media with a grain of salt due to such incidents.
Of course, Yahoo and Microsoft have huge share of email accounts. However, I am not yet sure if they have good enough products to target ads in that fashion. If they build it together, they will save money on building that. May be both already have products in the pipeline...who knows.
Going ahead, we will witness some interesting times in the search space.
1. MSN Money must leverage Yahoo Finance for their content but not the UI. The international market and eye balls (remember - Jewels at the bottom of the pyramid!) that MSN Money will get with the inclusion of Yahoo Finance content on MSN Money will surpass that of Google Finance easily.
Google Finance does not have any grip in the foreign markets - for instance, the Indian market. Whereas Yahoo Finance has a good set of data (though there is room for improvement for the international markets. Besides they roll no the RIC codes and hence, have a standardized convention for naming the stocks.
2. We will have a very colorful time watching the titans clash for the online ads market. MSFT has been ramping up its Live Search staff with good talent from around the globe. They have some way to go in order to make themselves equivalent to that of GOOG. However, they are on the right path.
3. Will MSFT be able to retain the top talent from YHOO? or will they be bought away by GOOG or facebook? Time will tell. Most of the sources I talk in Yahoo with tell me that they will not like to work for MSFT given that when they chose their careers - they had a choice and they actively chose YHOO over MSFT.
Another take on it is that this was a la The Art of War move by MSFT in which MSFT doesn't engage YHOO into a battle but just surrounds it. YHOO has nowhere to go. Mr. Yang and Gang could not maintain a high valuation for the ailing online giant. GOOG cannot make a bid as they dont want another regulator hassle from the DOJ for another anti-trust trial (this time it will be fatal).
In conclusion, 31 bucks a share is not a bad price to pay considering the additional steady revenues it will bring in. Microsoft senior leadership was astute and kept this possibility on bay for a while. Let us see how YHOO responds to this bid.
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