Yes, it’s true: the Microsoft/Yahoo saga continues. Over a year after the initial buy out offer, and all the drama that followed, Microsoft is still trying to flirt with Yahoo.
It’s kinda sad, really—like watching your extremely inept friend, er, acquaintance making a pass at someone who’s obviously not interested. Now, we all have different opinions over whether Yahoo should be interested, but right now it looks like they’re not. Really, really not. Which makes Microsoft COO Kevin Turner sound every bit as desperate and pitiable as said acquaintance when he tells the Times Online:
We’ve certainly made [Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz] aware and the Yahoo! board aware that if they are ever interested in an opportunity to partner with them on search, we’d like to sit down and at least have the conversation.
Ah yes, the “If you’re interested, I’m interested,” talk. Joy.
In all, though, this kind of backhanded flirting is probably not such a good idea right now. Microsoft is internally testing “Kumo,” the code name for its next search interface update. Is it really a good time to be out publicly admitting that “Hey, we’d be more than happy to throw in the towel and get behind another brand” (because, please, Microsoft, PLEASE don’t tell me you’d toss out the strong Yahoo brand for the very muddy Microsoft/MSN/Live/Kumo? brand!), or “Hey, our crawlers and index aren’t so hot, so we’d like yours”?
But you know what? I protest too much. One plus of this ongoing saga: I always have something to get snarky about.
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