Comments on: Instead of complaining, Google should make bid for Yahoo

Don Reisinger thinks Google should stop complaining and start negotiating for Yahoo. Is he right?

[dgden]

Dear author, you're nutz. Claiming that Google would control 80% of the market, become the most powerful company online and NOT call that a monopoly - ridiculous.

Your definition of monopoly is deceptive to the average reader, to say the least. Pure monopoly, just like perfect competition never exist! Instead a company may approach that status by being extremely dominant in the field.

Microsoft lost numerous anti-trust related suits brought against regardless of the fact that is wasn't the only software company, doh, nor the only one competing in the OS market - just the bigest and most dominant one.

Yahoo and Google would never be allowed to merge, period! Everything else you said doesn't matter a bit.

[22mojom22]

In response to dgen's comment, I have to say that I think you may be a tad bit off the mark with your willingness to classify a potential Google/Yahoo as a monopoly. Would it have the potential to become a monopoly? Certainly it would. 80% market share is a pretty huge market share with a lot of power. The thing to understand about monopolies though is that when you are talking anti-trust scenarios it is not the percentage of a market that a company controls, but instead what said company does with it's dominant percentage. As the author of the article points out there are many different places on the web where one can go for there searching needs (Mahalo, Clusty, Microsoft's Live Search, Ask.com). These services all access the same internet that Google does and are just as viable as Google for this purpose. So why don't we use these other services? Why do we pull up Google more often then these other sites? For many reasons, it is well marketed, fast and effective. Heck "Google" has even entered our general lexicon as a general term to search for something on the Internet. Google has the dominant market share because they have worked hard to provide an excellent service and position their brand at the tips of our tongues. Why won't Google become a monopoly just by being the biggest? Anti-trust legislation exists to prevent a dominant market player from using their position to maintain that lead through unfairly competitive business practices. This is what got Microsoft in trouble. Microsoft didn't get in trouble because there were more PC's then Macs (or whatever), They got into trouble because they used there market dominance to prevent other companies from entering the market by promoting and developing their own pet software products such as Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player.

Does the potential exist that Google could become a monopoly? Without question, they could make the decision to start using their influence to eliminate the competition, but quite frankly, I don't see why they would need to. Think about it, seriously think how often do you see an add for Google? People just use Google because it has almost become culturally in grained to do so. I use Google products every day (e-mail, searches, and chat) those products have never been marketed to me, I started using Google for internet searches when a friend told me about it, started using G-mail when it came available because a friend invited me, and chat because I thought it was a cool addition when it came available. No one has ever had to sell me on Google. Especially Google, and Google has never tried to stop me from using some other service, the fact that there service works has been all the marketing they've ever needed to convince me.that I don't need to go elsewhere. However I know I still could.

That being said, I would certainly like it if Yahoo and Google merged, then I could manage my fantasy football teams from my G-mail account. (Fantasy Football is the only reason I have a Yahoo account.)

[22mojom22]

Damn, I am a horrible speller. Sorry folks! I hope you get the gist of what I was trying to say though.

[dgden]

I respect your opinion 22mojom22 and you make some valid points. But I do not believe that a merger between Google and Yahoo would be in the best interests of competition. The company with that size would have too much power to destroy it's competitors.

Whether or not it would do so, is irrelevant, because such a merger would give Google the power to do it. Right now there are at least 3 major players in the field: Microsoft, Yahoo and Google.

If Microsoft merges with Yahoo, we'll have two very strong and capable competitors clinched in a fight for market share and customers. Each would have to be very innovative and offer a lot of great technology to attract customers.

If Google and Yahoo merge, Microsoft barely stands a chance. I think the regulatory bodies would see too much potential for monopolistic behavior in a Google/Yahoo merger and wouldn't allow it. Microsoft/Yahoo on the other hand are much likely to be permitted to merge, just because Google is on the other end of the scale.