Tired old line, isn’t it? It is really a question for investors, fans, etc. Have they jumped the shark? By Google jumping the shark, I don’t mean that they are suddenly a bad company, or going to start doing things poorly. I am really referring to the fact that the unique company that is doing things differently might not be the case anymore.
Google renames Froogle to Google (GOOG) Product Search. Why? This sounds very Microsoft’ish (MSFT). Are they trying to bury it? Trying to make it more corporate sounding so that large companies can embrace the possibility of the product feeds? I certainly have more questions than answers.
What tipped me on this one? Rumors of Google buying Monster Worldwide (MNST). This is very “me too” or Yahoo’ish (YHOO). Is Ask.com going to jump on the “me too” bandwagon (rather redundant)? If so, Robert Half International (RHI) should be the next target.
What is the next phase of acquisitions for the big 3, I mean big 4 networks… err search companies? Feels like the old network game doesn’t it. Then along came cable and Fox fit in. Ask.com is the online version of Fox. I have always like their search technology. Can be harder to game and therefore a better result. It will be interesting to see if the Ask.com advertising campaign of 2007 will help deliver.