Asked about selling search, Barry Diller says yes

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.

[cvaldes1831]

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.

[rootsmusic]

Who would want his search engine?? Nix Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google.

[cvaldes1831]

Probably some fossilized old-media drone. Let's say Rupert Murdock's News Corp (owners of MySpace), for example.

[myles taylor]

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.

[rootsmusic]

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.

[jackdaniels08]

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.

[jackdaniels08]

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.

[hankthedwarf]

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.

[SPADjocky]

Who wouldn't want to hang out with Jeeves? Read any Wodehouse?

Ask is my default, Google the fall back.

[techman21]

Who thinks their ads are annoying? "I do, I do!"

[bertmg]

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.