Microhoo-pla: What is the fate of Microsoft-Yahoo proposal?

The term and concept of Microhoo can be dated back a couple of years now, but it looks to be much more of a reality today than it ever was. Thursday night, Microsoft sent a letter to Yahoo offering $31 per share in cash and stocks. This is more than 50 percent over the worth of the company relative to its Nasdaq trading price this week. The bid by Microsoft to buy Yahoo (it adds up to $44.6 billion) is surely a way for both companies to best do battle against Google, and such a move is ripe with many serious ramifications both inside and outside the world of SEO.

Speculation is rife on the Internet about the possibilities of the deal coming to fruition and the ramifications if it does. Stock prices are swelling and wavering, and investors are scrambling to properly position themselves. So, what's the most important issue in my view? Well, I just don't think they're going to call it Microhoo. I think there are better options.

Yicrosoft, for example, has a better ring to it and seems less questioning than "micro-who?" The name Mihoo looses the identity of both companies, and Yacrosoft sounds downright regurgitated. Mahoo, I am told, has predefined connotations (Google it), and Yicrohoo, if it doesn't have predefined connotations, really should. And what about Microsoft's Live search portal? It would seem to be the logical match to Yahoo. Could they go with Livehoo? It's certainly better than Yalive, which looks slick but could easily be mispronounced as "olive."

The winner in my book is Yasoft. It just sounds cool. Oh sure, there are a couple of small entities out there that may lay claim to the name, but no one that couldn't be bought out for five figures. The "Ya" says "yes" while the "soft" says "safe," as if it could just as easily be a high-end brand of bathroom tissue...which is exactly what Yahoo stockholders are going to need to dab at their tears if this deal doesn't go through. Come to think of it, they should grab the name either way.