RSSGoogle Offers $1 Billion for 5% of AOL
By Ed Oswald | Published December 16, 2005, 2:10 PM
Google has offered to pay $1 billion for a 5 percent stake in America Online, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, effectively pushing Microsoft out of any negotiation with Time Warner. The news marks a major setback to Microsoft's efforts to gain a more even footing with Google in the search industry.
If the rumors prove true, it would mean nearly a year's worth of negotiations between Microsoft and AOL would have been for naught. Microsoft had endeavored to convince AOL to drop Google for MSN Search, as well as combine the sales and advertising departments of the two companies.
But AOL started separate negotiations with Google in September. If a deal is indeed imminent, it would likely not be completed until Time Warner's board meets next Wednesday.
According to the Journal's sources, the agreement would allow AOL the right to sell some of the advertising on Google's Web pages. Google would also promote AOL Web sites through its "sponsored links" feature on the top portions of the search result pages.
However, the partnership drama has been murky since the start. Just last week, the Wall Street Journal claimed that Time Warner and Microsoft were close to an agreement on an advertising pact that would create a service similar to Google's AdWords program.
None of the parties involved were commenting on the situation.
They should call it GAOL.
Then we can pronounce it GAY-O-L
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|Ummm, I wonder how people at Microsoft feel like after they get the same treatment they have been given to other companies. ha ha…..I guess they finally met their match.
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|Like Microsoft needs to partner with anyone else. Yay for Google for jumping on what Microsoft has been working a year on!
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-Ryan
http://blog.cyberwags.com
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|don,t like aol dont like googo either love msn
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|I personally don't care what the outcome is. :P
I don't use Netscape, winamp, google, etc :P
I use Opera, WMP and Yahoo (When in Windows, and Kaffeine when in Linux... but my point remains):P
"You all seem to think that Google is actually trying to "buy" AOL."
They are. 5% of it.
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|I mean buy as in take it over.
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|Personally, as much as I hate MSN and Google, I think that the whole web would benifit if either of them brought it and took it over.
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|You all seem to think that Google is actually trying to "buy" AOL.
This only has AOL customers use Google as their search, and including Google in other areas of AOL. This equals a hell of a lot more revenue for Google. Why? Because AOL is the largest ISP in the world.
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|The consumers are the only one going to be hurt by this, MSFT would have made a better partner. Search results from both AOL's and google's search engine have been pretty poor for the last year now. msnsearch.com find alot more relivent information, instead of junk and ads by google. Sorry if this hurts, but myself and several of my customers are see and agree with this.
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|Doesn't hurt me a bit. I honestly can't tell the difference between yahoo, msn, lycos, or Google. I mean as far as the relevance of searches. I can find what I want just as easy with one as I can the others.
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|Google finds more relevant stuff for me, but not by much.
I also like the page layout better.
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|Then use it Kramy!
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|Yep, but my post reflects the basic criteria your personal search engine should meet:
A) You can use it well.
B) You like how the page looks or is organized.
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|Perhaps AIM and Google Talk will be brought together.
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|aim and google talk together, yeah ok.
im pretty sure google wouldnt keep any of aol programers on their google team at all on how much useless crap was put into triton
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|this is not even worth the extra 3 zeros.
this is like asking a prostitute for a blowjob.
dirty work right there.
just completely wrong.
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|AOL is easy to hate, as Microsoft is too. It's hard to hate something that was a basic search engine. AOL needs a company like Google to get involved and bring what people like to this service.
I only use AOL because I've had the same screen name for 10 years and I'm not willing to lose it. Once thing that no other ISP uses that AOL does, is the RSA Passcodes. To the average person this isnt important, but all the "AOL kiddies" try and steal my screen name, so this is one layer of protection worth the 1.95 a month.
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|Myself I think it would be healthy for Google to have it's own ISP but for heaven's sake, leave AOL alone.
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|i think google has a plan for worls domination. But realy i hope this is just a rumor. AOL has been nothin but a failure.
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|If by failure you mean "largest ISP in the US", then yes, you'd be just about dead-on.
Just because you are not a tech-novice needing to be hand-held does not by any means mean that the vast majority of US internet subscribers aren't.
Don't dis the users just because they don't know what the hell they're doing. you weren't born an internet maven (Well, unless you're regressing, that is).
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|with total disregard for any financial interests, ....Why the hell would anyone want AOL..? lol
It's openly rejected by anyone who has any real knowledge of computers with exception to it's IM service, which is seperate...which it seems they're trying to reverse w/ the new advent of Triton integrating everything.... yuck.
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|some people enjoy AOL's pop-up blocker that blocks everything but AOL ads. And their spyware zapper that zaps all the spyware, except AOL. tee hee
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|Fortunately there are 30 million and growing people who don't believe you regarding the "openly rejected" comment you make. Yuck to you for making a comment which has no basis in fact.
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|Clearly this shows Google's desperation at losing its 10% revenue from AOL.
I'm glad Yahoo! dropped out when it did.
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|Let's hope these are just rumors, and Google is smarter than that.
Microsoft is an expert on pissing away cash ...let ~them~ invest in AOL.
Maybe Bill Gates could set up a foundation for crippled ISP's not expected to live.
The Computer Rodent
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|The CISP's Foundiation of America! By Microsoft
CISP's Include:
Compuserve 2000
America Online
Netscape
Juno
Altavista
SBC Yahoo!
MSN
ATT Worldnet
550 Access
Speakeasy
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|Sponsored links....News Items related to...
Getting to the point where you have to look half-way down the page to find the actual search results.
They need to clean that up...big time. I've been called a Google fanboy many a time, but the garbage on top of the results is actually beginning to get on my nerves.
Now...regarding the actual article... Keep in mind it says these are rumors. The exact opposite was in the news last week.
All they're really telling us..."Hey...it could go either way. Really."
*shrug* Seeing as how I don't use AOL, I have zero preference other than I would like to see google getting some more lovin'. Even if it *is* from an aged and dying beast like AOhell.
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|Funniest time I had was when searching something computer related and it turned up two sponsored sites...and then the exact same two sites came up right below it in the un-sponsored section. :D
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|Get a life! :)
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|I meant searching. :P
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