Right now, there’s about 40 +/- 10 people from Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google in close proximity, along with other associated industry folks. So, as you can imagine, there’s a lot of scuttlebutt about the Microsoft / Yahoo acquisition. Here’s some of it (names withheld to protect the guilty… and hey, this is GOSSIP! Unsubstantiated rumor! Yellow journalism! Cite it at your own risk!)
- A bunch of Microsofties are very wary of the deal, for reasons largely along the lines I mentioned previously.
- A bunch of Yaholligans (Yahoochers?) are “just not thinking about it.”
Neither side is saying they saw this coming (as opposed to search pundits everywhere). And, as near as I can see, everyone is just going about as normal. The Yahoo recruiting booth is sandwiched right between the Google and Microsoft booths at WSDM (eBay and Ask are off to the side… ah, the exhibit hall is rich with metaphor!).
So, my worthless stock advice du jour: pay close attention to what Microsoft does in the near future. We’ll probably know how serious they are very quickly. Personally, if they go down the hostile acquisition route, that feels like a “bet the company” maneuver, which would surprise me greatly for Microsoft to do that.