• On last.fm: Radiohead - Listen free and discover!
October 27, 2009 5:36 PM PDT

Asked about selling search, Barry Diller says yes

by Tom Krazit
  • Font size
  • Print
  • 11 comments

Ask.com could soon be up for sale, judging by the comments of IAC CEO Barry Diller.

(Credit: Screenshot by Tom Krazit/CNET)

Ask.com could be on the block, judging by the comments of the CEO of its parent company.

Reuters reported on IAC's third-quarter earnings conference call Tuesday, where CEO Barry Diller all but opened the bidding for the struggling search engine. Despite a novel promotional deal with Nascar, Ask.com has failed to make much headway against the great powers of search in Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft.

"We've been asked a lot whether we're open to consolidating transactions in the area of search. The answer is yes," Diller was quoted by Reuters as saying. "And, it is unlikely that we would be the consolidator."

Search consolidation is already in full swing in 2009, with the government reviewing a pending deal between Microsoft and Yahoo that would see Microsoft installed as the exclusive provider of search technology on Yahoo's Web sites. That government scrutiny could make it more difficult for IAC to sell Ask.com to Google or Microsoft, assuming they would be interested.

Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom.
Recent posts from Relevant Results
Google wants to build 'white spaces' database
Five New Year's resolutions for Google
Google plans January 5 Android press event
Report: T-Mobile ready for Google phone launch
Consumer groups urge block of Google-AdMob deal
Chinese author plans lawsuit over Google Books
DDoS attack hobbles major sites, including Amazon
Web staggers under pre-Christmas DDoS attack
Add a Comment (Log in or register) (11 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
by cvaldes1831 October 27, 2009 5:52 PM PDT
No surprise here. While Barry has had some coups in old-school media, he doesn't know squat about the Internet. He's a smart guy, but his watch stopped in the Eighties - like Carl Icahn.
Reply to this comment
by rootsmusic October 27, 2009 6:53 PM PDT
Who would want his search engine?? Nix Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google.
Reply to this comment
by cvaldes1831 October 27, 2009 7:03 PM PDT
Probably some fossilized old-media drone. Let's say Rupert Murdock's News Corp (owners of MySpace), for example.
by myles taylor October 27, 2009 9:35 PM PDT
Actually I could see Google purchasing it. That would be my prediction. Ask.com's idea of making a search more like a question isn't a bad one and I often type questions into my google searches. It's not a bad idea.
Reply to this comment
by rootsmusic November 23, 2009 8:18 PM PST
See http://seekingalpha.com/article/171158-ask-com-microsoft-and-aol-internet-love-triangle for someone's wishful thinking for AOL to return to the search engine business.
by jackdaniels08 October 28, 2009 1:33 AM PDT
Ask's biggest mistake. They canned Jeeves the Butler. They gotta bring him back, just like Jack in the Box who the company exploded and revived as a cool character years later. Maybe Jeeves should come back as a sort of superhero or just a cool cat, I don't know or a CEO. Oh and maybe Jeeves 2.0 (the new updated service name) can reinvent itself into something akin to real time social search and form a partnership with Google. You want to make it in the business? Force yourself to innovate way out of the box and think of thinks that only a lunatic would come up with.
Reply to this comment
by jackdaniels08 October 28, 2009 1:39 AM PDT
CORRECTION: Reginald Jeeves was a valet, a gentleman's personal gentleman to Bertie Wooster who was a butler. Jeeves was NOT a butler. However, Bertie Wooster has lent out Jeeves as a butler on several occasions Sorry.
by hankthedwarf October 28, 2009 2:18 AM PDT
I dunno. Jeeves was pretty lame as far as mascots go. A good mascot is usually someone (or something) you want to hang out with.
by SPADjocky October 28, 2009 8:58 AM PDT
Who wouldn't want to hang out with Jeeves? Read any Wodehouse?

Ask is my default, Google the fall back.
Reply to this comment
by techman21 October 28, 2009 9:04 AM PDT
Who thinks their ads are annoying? "I do, I do!"
Reply to this comment
by bertmg October 28, 2009 9:06 AM PDT
Maybe Ask.com should change their business strategy and stop competing so much with search engines but instead, offer it as an additional service for let's say Facebook, MySpace, or game internet communities. there is a niche that can use an Ask.com type of service.
Reply to this comment
(11 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
advertisement

Five New Year's resolutions for Google

Stakes are high as Google attempts to maintain one of the Internet's greatest cash machines while pushing into new and risky markets.
• Android event set for Jan. 5

For eBay sellers, a holiday hamster hangover

The gift frenzy over Zhu Zhu Pets leaves some power sellers feeling like they've just run a marathon--but the steep price tags lead to some impressive profits.

About Relevant Results

Relevant Results focuses on the big Internet companies of our time, tracking the evolution of search, communication, and business on the Web. Tom Krazit examines how a shift to mobile computing and the growing demand for online content affect our understanding of how to deliver information in the 21st century, in between bemoaning the state of the New York Mets and searching for the perfect IPA.

Add this feed to your online news reader

Relevant Results topics

advertisement
advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right