Blog / 2009 / July

Microsoft and Yahoo! Announce Deal

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

Google has certainly seemed to dominate the World Wide Web for the past several years, though both Microsoft and Yahoo! have put up a good fight. Microsoft recently launched its own search engine, called Bing, and Yahoo! reformatted its home page to include a whole slew of social media applications. Google held its own however, announcing plenty of its own new applications such as a social media platform called Google Wave and even its own operating system to be launched next year.

While the three companies competed, it seemed just like your average, run-of-the-mill battle of the brands. Now, however, Microsoft and Yahoo! have joined forces to try to take down the Google Empire once and for all. Though it still seems unclear as to whether the Yahoo! search engine and the Bing! search engine will be combined into one entity or whether they will work separately to dominate Google, it is fairly certain that all responsibilities for the Yahoo! search engine have been turned over to Microsoft. How Microsoft will choose to use this new power is still unknown.

Currently, Microsoft and Yahoo! combined only make up for 28% of the nation’s internet searches, whereas Google holds a whopping 65%. While this Microsoft-Yahoo! deal surely means some trouble for Google, it seems premature to assume that they will be able to dominate Google’s huge lead, even with their combination. All that is clear is that the world of search engines is changing, and changing rapidly. We here at Promoting Group are interested to see how all of these new products, services, upcoming plans, and forged bonds will play out and change the face of the internet as we know it.

Yahoo! Upgrade

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

yahoo logo 178x125 Yahoo! UpgradeWith all the recent chatter about Google and Microsoft, it is no wonder that Yahoo! was feeling left out. Google recently introduced its own phone and browser, and announced plans for an up-and-coming operating system. Microsoft is putting up a fair fight, however, with the introduction of a new search engine, known as Bing, and the launch of their newest operating system this holiday season.

So where does that leave Yahoo!? Well while Google and Microsoft continue to duke it out by infringing on one another’s territory, Yahoo! has taken a slight different approach by bettering their current product, instead of trying to creating a new product all together. The Yahoo! homepage, which up until recently contained very basic features, such as e-mail, weather, news headlines, and horoscopes, has been completely reworked to include applications for all your favorite social media applications, such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as ways to add new pages and personalize the sight.

We here at Promoting Group think that Yahoo! may be on to something. The trend today among businesses seems to be breaking into new markets and stealing other’s thunder (think Microsoft pitting Bing against Google, or McDonald’s using the McCafé brand to infringe on Starbucks’ success). Yahoo!, however, took a smart approach and has bettered their existing brand. We would like to applaud Yahoo! for deciding to stick with its current products and put their efforts into bettering their brand from the inside out. If Yahoo! continues to play its cards right, Google and Microsoft may have a new competitor to worry about.

Google OS

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

Microsoft and Google used to live harmoniously alongside one another. Microsoft did its thing and Google went its own way, feeding off one another but never being directly in competition with each other.

However, all of that has changed. With the introduction of Bing, Microsoft single-handedly threatened Google’s monopoly on the world of internet search engines. No other search engine (even Yahoo!) has come close to touching Google’s dominance, and no other search engine has earned verb-age in the dictionary. Degoogleos 110x110 Google OSspite the fact that Yahoo! has been around for quite sometime, you still technically can’t “Yahoo!” something, but you can Google anything you’d like.

Microsoft’s Bing has come along with all of the same features of Google, include images, videos, and maps, but with the advertised promise that instead of just being a search engine, Bing is a “decision” engine, promising to help you narrow down your search to exactly what you are looking for, whereas Google has always relied on big numbers when it comes to search feedback, searching out even the most insignificant blog or personal website mention.

Now, Microsoft might be the ones who have to fear. After the devastatingly unpopular Windows Vista operating system launched a few years ago, PC-owners have desperately been trying to get back to their old beloved Windows XP system. Many PC-lovers found solace in Google Chrome, a type of browser that works like an up-to-date, Google-ized XP browser, and now Google is taking it to the next step, and plans to introduce their own operating system in the fall of 2010.

Google lovers rejoice, Microsoft execs balk.

Details on the upcoming operating system were announced on Google’s official blog and by the Associated Press. Could this be the sign of a future struggle and competition between Google and Microsoft? First Google Search versus Bing, now Google’s Chrome-based OS versus the new Windows Seven, set to launch this winter as an answer to Windows Vista? What’s next? And where does this leave the Apple/Mac brand?

All we know for sure is that PC-ers everywhere have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming months. We here at Promoting Group can’t wait to try out all the new software and to see how this all plays out.

 

About Promoting Group

Who We Are: Promoting Group is an internet marketing company whose priority is to make your organization rise above the competition. We are a group of talented and dedicated individuals with a passion for marketing and demonstrated skill in public relations and search engine optimization. We will custom-tailor marketing strategies that are right for you and ...

Read more