10e20 Blog

Last week I spoke to Richard Dalton from Newsday and gave him my thoughts on Microsoft and Yahoo coming together for a story he was doing. The article ran in today’s paper and can be seen here. Here are my thoughts from the piece:

Chris Winfield, president of 10e20, an Internet marketing company based in Fleetwood, agreed that neither Microsoft nor Yahoo can effectively compete individually against Google.

Microsoft’s search capability is a few year’s behind Google’s, while Yahoo’s search engine is good but lags Google’s as well, he said.

“Personally, I would much rather have two really strong options than just one really good option and then two OK ones.”

Rich ends the article with the most recent news about Yahoo! turning Microsoft down (for now): Even though Yahoo’s board has rejected Microsoft’s initial offer, some experts believe Microsoft will inevitably work out a deal to obtain the company – and then deal with an issue the software giant is familiar with – antitrust.

Sexy start-ups seem to love Microsoft lately. At least that’s the way it seems on the heels of the latest report that Microsoft has signed an agreement to sell advertisements from outside the U.S. on Facebook and will acquire a minority stake in the company. Seemingly as important as actually inking the deal is the fact they beat Google in this closely watched contest.

Here’s the terms of the deal:

* Microsoft will invest up to $250 million for a minority stake in Facebook (people are saying that the valuations being discussed for Facebook are as high as $15 BILLION)

* This deal now expands on their previous advertising agreement (which was solely for the US) and focuses on international versions of the Facebook service. Microsoft will be able to run ads on those sites.

Microsoft has approached Facebook in recent weeks and the two companies are in talks about Microsoft making an investment in the social-networking startup. Microsoft’s investment would give them up to 5% in the company and that would value Facebook at $10 billion or more according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Microsoft’s approach to Facebook in recent weeks with proposals to invest in the fast-growing site is part of the software giant’s effort to catch up with the Internet rival Google. If successful, Microsoft’s talks with Facebook could give it an up-to-5% stake in the closely-held startup—a stake potentially valued at roughly $300 million to $500 million, the people familiar with those talks said.

The article states that this is likely to lead to another battle with Google, who has also expressed interest in Facebook.

In a move that is sure to raise a lot of eyebrows around Diggnation, social news network giant Digg has just announced that they are going to be ditching Google and moving to Microsoft to serve ads on the site. Digg co-founder Kevin Rose on the Digg blog:

Hey everyone – I wanted to give you a heads-up before the official announcement is made later today. We’ve signed on Microsoft as our new partner to sell and serve the ads on Digg. It’s a deal similar to the one Facebook signed with Microsoft last year.

Kevin compares the deal last year that Facebook signed with Microsoft. A refresher from last August:

Facebook and Microsoft Corp. today announced a strategic alliance in which the two companies will collaborate to bring relevant advertising to the more than 9 million registered users of Facebook, the Internet’s leading social directory. Microsoft’s advanced advertising technology and Facebook’s unique social network make possible the multiyear collaboration grounded in the two companies’ commitment to technological innovation.

Yesterday I spoke to Pete Barlas from Investor’s Business Daily (regarding Microsoft’s recent acquisition of online ad firm aQuantive for $6 Billion) and my quick thoughts are in today’s paper:

….just Thursday, ad agency WPP Group agreed to buy 24/7 Media, another ad services company, for $650 million. Microsoft had been rumored to be mulling its own acquisitions of DoubleClick and 24/7. Shares of ValueClick, another online ad firm, rose more than 13% Friday before closing up 7.6%.

“The amazing thing about this is that it makes Google look smart,” said Chris Winfield, president of 10e20, a search marketing firm.

What I was referring to was Google’s recent acquisition of DoubleClick for about half the price. When the news of that deal first came out, a lot of people were a bit surprised at how much Google paid but now it looks (on the surface) like they got a steal compared to the $6 billion Microsoft just shelled out. Good discussion at ThreadWatch on the issue.

Yesterday I spoke with Jeff Graham from USA Today and I am quoted in his story about the alleged Microsoft and Yahoo deal.

Could a potential Microsoft/Yahoo deal solve the freefall?

Short answer: no. Long answer: Internet analysts say it couldn’t hurt.

“Overnight, MSN and Yahoo’s market share doubles,” says Chris Winfield, president of 10e20, a New York firm that helps businesses set up search marketing campaigns. “They still aren’t as strong as Google, but they are healthier together than apart.”

Rumor has it that Google Analytics is getting competition: its rival, Microsoft, is working on an analytics platform called Gatineau (for now). You can’t log in just yet — well, you can, but it will log you out.

Here’s a sneak peek of the welcome screen:

If this truly will be Google Analytics’s competition, I’m hoping this is going to address several shortcomings that I’ve found in Google Analytics, particularly the notion of inaccurate counts (especially when compared with Urchin, which is ironic given that Google purchased Urchin yet dropped its core functionality), the absence of the direct referral page in the analysis review, and complexity (especially for newbies — how about simple Urchin-like reports and an advanced view?)

I’m looking forward to seeing this new analytics tool which hopefully will integrate the best of Google Analytics with its own unique flavor.