Steve Balmer Loves Apples?

Well by the date of my last blog as you can see it has been a while since I posted as I have been really busy. But I could not let this one go past that one of my staff James emailed to me this morning.

I think the title of the Blog and the picture below will say it all!

You can just imagine Steve B's face as he turns up to his fully branded Microsoft conference to discover that for the next 30 minutes he has to use a Silver and Black Fruit based laptop from his good friend Mr Steve Jobs.

And on top of this know that all the PR pictures taken like the one above will have that lovely logo in it.....classic!!

Microsoft bids $44.6 billion for Yahoo!!!

Well last Friday started like any other Friday, until I read my RSS feeds at about 11.45am and you hear rumours of Microsoft bidding to buy Yahoo. At first you can of think 'Yeah Right!' but the reality is that the bid has been tabled at $44.6 Billion. (How much!!)

The question then has to be asked as to will the deal actually happen? It looks like Yahoo will entertain it but I can imagine it will take some time to go through. But I bet the Yahoo share holders are hoping it does when it values the shares at just over 62% more than what they currently are. It is getting a lot of mixed opinions on the business side with the Fox business teams saying it is a really bad deal for Microsoft share holders and they are paying to much.



Business aside I have to bring this back to one area, if they combined how will this affect their search market share?? In the US Google will still be 56% and the combined Yahoo and Microsoft will only be 31.5%. This is in the US which is the market where they are at the closest as well. Imagine the UK it will be Google 79% and Yahoo-Microsoft combined still only around 14%. As a joint force can they grow the share or will they focus to areas of Technology or Mobile Search?

The only other area to consider is the name....will it be YaSoft? or Microhoo? Time will tell and I am sure there will be a lot more news and discussion about the deal next week.

'touchEarth' - Google Earth Via Multitouch

We have all probably seen the facility on the likes of the iPhone to manipulate Google maps via touch and the ability to 'Pinch' in and out. The Youtube video below I just came across that has been uploaded today shows how much more you can manipulate this. The demo of 'touchEarth' application shows how you can control Google Earth via multitouch gestures on a much larger scale.

It really is getting to the stages of the film Minority Reports a few years ago and for me starts to show how the Internet can start to move towards an integrated media centre option in the house bringing Internet and the likes of TV closer together. Microsoft have also been looking at these options as well with their 'Surface' table technology for a while now.

Steve Ballmer Goes Search Dunking!

Here is a video of part of a longer interview with Microsofts Steve Ballmer at Web 2, he is asked about how Microsoft Search is coming along against the competitors like Google. The answer he gives is fantastic and delivered in only a way Steve Ballmer can!

Advertising search marketing the Microsoft way

Microsoft has started using the power of Soapbox video to advertising their search offering from Live Search. Historically search is not an easy thing to advertise and you could say there is no hip and trendy way to do it. But this is a dam good attempt from the Microsoft guys.


Video: Live Search commercial

I have to say mind, I don't have the version of Live Search that allows me to do a search on Live Search and find things around the house such as underwear. Is this in the new Vista? Can I get one of those please Microsoft?

Nothing like a good interview

While I was down at the Online Marketing Show last week doing a speaking session we decided to set up a series of interviews with some of the main search providers in the industry which I was able to sign up on the day and get them in front of the dreaded video camera.

We have just published interviews with Richard Firminger - Yahoo, Mel Carson - Microsoft, Ajay Syal - Yell and Steve Miller - IAB to the Latitude Website and Youtube.

Google will follow shortly as it is still getting signed off by their legal team, but it will be added as soon as I have it.

I decided to ask in general only two questions to them all:

1. What is the next big thing in search marketing in the next 12 months?
2. How do you see search developing in the future over say the next 3 to 4 years?

What was interesting to here is that generally everyone had a different opinion! Obviously they had to talk about products from their own organisations (who wouldn't!) but when you listen to their concepts in makes for great insight and a lot of different opinions.

I have put the interview with Richard Firminger - Yahoo Regional Sales Director Northern Europe below. But I recommend going and having a look at them all. You can see them at:

http://uk.youtube.com/user/latitudegroupvideos



Watch out for the Everyclick blue mouse putting in a guest appearance as well on the Yell.com interview. that mouse was everywhere for the whole 2 days at the show, you couldn't get away from him!

I have seen the future and the future is 'Surface'

I was having a play with this concept the other week and for me it it a sign of things to come. www.surface.com is another one of those rare things that you look at and it genuinely makes you take a sharp prolonged intake of breath and go 'wow!'

Check out the video on the right hand side and imagine being able to pay for bills, pass directions and images between devices without cables. Fantastic! Very cool website too!

Steve Balmer as you have never seen before

Here is a blast from the past!

Photosynth.....Oh Yes!

Now I was talking to my mate Mel at Microsoft today and he pointed out that the Photosynth technology is now live on the the BBC website for buildings in the UK.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/britain/photocollection/index.shtml

This is one cool product, I first saw the video for this at the back end of last year giving the vision of how a wire frame was created of St Peters Square in Rome and how you could potentially upload images to the wire frame. It was one of the few products as you say made me sound like the dog from the Churchill ad when I first saw it and i let out the usual advert line of 'Oh Yes'.

Go and check out the product as Mel can always be heard saying at........ http://labs.live.com/photosynth/bbc/default.htm

It really is worth the time to check it out! Cheers Mel.