For several months now, I’ve been reading the blog of Fred Wilson, a venture capitalist with Union Square Ventures in NYC. I find it an excellent read. His insights and posts bring a level of transparency to the VC business that is both refreshing and elucidating. I am hoping to cross paths with Fred in one of the many tech conferences one of these days and get to meet him in person.
He wrote another excellent post today, about the need for conviction and discipline in his business. Definitely worth a read.
Posted in Fun, Software by ethomaz
February 26, 2008
There’s so much of the same in the world of software and web apps these days that is really hard to be wow-ed by anything new. Well, check out this new game, called Crayon Physics Deluxe.
Every once in a while the alarm clock goes off in the morning right at the moment NPR is reporting big news. Man, there’s nothing better to get you out of bed.
This morning it happened again. As soon as the radio went on, the guy from NPR announced Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo! I was still kind of asleep at the time so I had to check the news somewhere else to see if it was really true.
It’s not exactly a surprise, since many people have suggested that Microsoft+Yahoo! company does make sense, given how far ahead Google is in the search and ad game. Some people who are analyzing the whole thing are in favor of the deal.
Personally, I wish Yahoo! remained independent. It’s much more interesting for everyone, in my opinion, to have Yahoo! as a third force (if not second) in this industry. They’ve shown time and time again that they ‘get it’, with acquisitions like Flickr and del.icio.us. I am not so sure Microsoft will preserve their DNA.
Having said this, my prediction is that Yahoo! will accept the offer. Yahoo! is in re-structuring mode, laying off folks, with a relatively new CEO (even though he’s the founder). But they have some great assets, people and technology. One of the impediments to this is that Yahoo!’s stock price is going up with this bid. In fact, it’s already at $27 after closing yesterday at $19. MS’s offer won’t be so sweet, but these fluctuations are to be expected.
All in all, Microsoft’s timing is perfect. They’ve been clearly waiting for the right moment and this is it. Let’s see how the story unfolds.