Poll: Whom should Microsoft pursue next?

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Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog

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Poll: Whom should Microsoft pursue next?

As the dust settles from Microsoft's thwarted Yahoo acquisition bid, there's lots of speculation about which company or companies Microsoft should try to buy next. Facebook? Digg? Time Warner's AOL, perhaps? Or maybe Microsoft should go it alone and focus on organic growth. Bill Gates is being criticized for delivering mixed messages on the issue -- saying yesterday that the company wasn't ruling out partnerships, and today that it would stay focused on its independent strategy.

So here's a chance to weigh in on the question: After the withdrawal of its Yahoo bid, what should Microsoft pursue next? Our options: AOL; Digg; Facebook; LinkedIn; MySpace; Twitter; Yahoo (again); other; or none of the above, focus solely on internal development. If you choose "other," feel free to post the name of your pick in the comments below.

Click here to vote and see the results.

P.S.: Maybe the results of this poll shouldn't be taken too lightly: Our poll last week asked what Microsoft should do in its Yahoo bid, and the largest number of respondents favored walking away from the deal.

Posted by at May 7, 2008 3:29 p.m.
Categories: Bill Gates, Facebook, Microsoft's Yahoo Bid

Comments

#126285

Posted by 8bitjoystick at 5/7/08 4:30 p.m.

Who should Microsoft buy?

Electronic Arts : They have been trading executives for a long enough and they have had a relationship that extends beyond casual dating.

Adobe : They now own Macromedia and they make a whole bunch of professional graphic, publishing and video tools. If they purchased Adobe they would pretty much own media production market.

Flextronics

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#126286

Posted by 8bitjoystick at 5/7/08 4:32 p.m.

What the heck does AOL have that Microsoft would want? It is not 1995 any more.

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#126339

Posted by unregistered user at 5/7/08 5:54 p.m.

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#126455

Posted by unregistered user at 5/7/08 11:58 p.m.

What the heck does AOL have that Microsoft would want?

- A ton of searches (that google gets right now).
- A ton of ad inventory
- A ton of users (IM, email, etc)
- A well-known brand

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#126845

Posted by Wilker at 5/8/08 7:07 p.m.

I think taking a larger share of Facebook would be a good move. Facebook is preparing itself to be the platform of the web and this is exactly what MS needs. Also incorporating facebook services with outlook and hotmail could be extremely useful. Unfortunately, a complete buyout would put MS's name behind the service which could turn users away (as fickle as young people are) so, like the previous 250 million investment, it would need to be quiet.

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#126906

Posted by unregistered user at 5/8/08 11:09 p.m.

baidu is the way to go

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#127061

Posted by 8bitjoystick at 5/9/08 1:10 p.m.

Yeah. Actually buying Baidu would really freak out Google.

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#129140

Posted by unregistered user at 5/15/08 9:09 a.m.

Please no "social networking" companies! They are all vastly overpriced right now. Wait until the fad dies down and buy them for half the price.

AOL, on the other hand, is currently undervalued and can probably be had for a song. Lots of nice properties there, plus AIM. Ditch the dialup, keep the web stuff, email, and AIM, and eliminate some competition.

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