Michigan Web Design - Chicago Web Design       

When Matt Cutts speaks, people listen. The Google software engineer and head of Google’s Webspam team is well known throughout the SEO arena as “the specialist” of search engine optimization topics. Matt is also known as the enforcer of Google Webmaster Guidelines and the top gun on link spam. He recently released a “must see” 10 minute keynote video from Web 2.0, What Google Knows About Spam.

What may be the best ten minutes spent learning about web spam, Matt explains in the video that SEO is not spam and that web spam is the practice of breaking the rules to place higher in search engine placements. He identifies examples, the root causes and steps one can make to prevent spam.

The infamous Google Enforcer, Matt has been with Google since January 2000. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate is named on the renowned Google patent filing about web spam and search engines as a co-inventor. This patent was the first to use technology to identify link spam by utilizing historical data.

When the Google Enforcer speaks, the world listens.

To view the video, visit Matt Cutts’ blog at: What Google Knows About Spam.

You may also visit the Web2Expo on blip.tv at: Matt Cutts (Google) at Web 2.0 Expo SF.

Google sites amassed an astounding 79% of all European searches for the month of March 2008 according to comScore. The leading digital world measurement firm reports that over 19 billion searches were conducted in Europe with nearly 8 out of 10 searchers using Google.

Following the search engine giant, Google, the second place in Europe’s searches was captured by eBay at 3.1%. Yandex, the search portal in Russia placed in third place with 2.2%, followed by Yahoo! at 2.0% and Microsoft sites capturing 1.9%.

ComScore also reports that 24.6 billion searches were conducted by 221.2 million Europeans for the month of March. The top three countries with users performing searches were Finland, Portugal and the United Kingdom respectively.

Yahoo, Inc.’s co-founder and chief executive officer, Jerry Yang, indicated that he is still open to discussions with Microsoft Corporation on Monday. The news surfaced in the aftermath of last weekend’s bid withdrawal from Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, the subsequent plummeting of Yahoo stock to $24.37 or by 15% and investors’ critical disappointment.

The game may indeed still be simmering. The chief Yahoo, Yang, was interviewed by Reuters describing “mixed feelings” with regard to last weekend’s conclusion. “We were negotiating a way to find common ground and then on Saturday they chose to walk away,” explained the CEO. “They started it and they walked away.”

When asked if he would still leave the negotiating door ajar, the 39-year-old Yahoo chief replied, “If they have anything new to say, we would be open. … I am more than willing to listen.”

Microsoft Corporation’s CEO, Steve Ballmer had raised the ante from $31 per share to $33 or approximately $47.5 billion in a last ditch effort to sweeten the pot, but Yang held out. The Yahoo chief insisted the Sunnyvale, California company was worth $37 per share.

The major Yahoo shareholder at 16% is Capital Research Global Investors. The company’s portfolio manager, Gordon Crawford, told Reuters, “I am extremely angry at Jerry Yang and at the so-called independent board.”

Other principle Yahoo shareholders are voicing their disappointment. The second main shareholder at approximately 7%, Legg Mason, was interviewed on Sunday by The New York Times. Their portfolio manager, Bill Miller, is reported as stating in the interview “he would have considered selling to Microsoft for slightly more than the $33 a share the company offered.”

Miller is also reported as stating, “It is now up to Yahoo’s management to prove to shareholders that the company is worth more than Microsoft offered.”

Who was the winner in the wake of the recent turn of events? Some people with knowledge of the subject believe that the search giant, Google, is the clear winner as stocks rose $13.61 to $594.90 at the end of trading on Monday.

It is anticipated that Yahoo CEO, Yang, will assemble employees on Tuesday for a meeting to bolster confidence in the company during the wave of rippling effects caused by the news of Microsoft’s announcement to walk away from the table last weekend.

Jerry Yang, Yahoo!’s CEO welcomed the news of Microsoft’s official withdrawal of its offer to buy the company on Saturday, but now faces uncertainty in the aftermath.

“I am incredibly proud of the way our team has come together over the last three months,” Yang stated in the Yahoo! Statement in Response to Microsoft on May 3. “This process has underscored our unique and valuable strategic position. With the distraction of Microsoft’s unsolicited proposal now behind us, we will be able to focus all of our energies on executing the most important transition in our history so that we can maximize our potential to the benefit of our shareholders, employees, partners and users.”

It appears it will be a dark Monday for the 39-year-old Yahoo! Chief Executive Officer. In pre-market trading, Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) stock plummeted 21% to $22.65 from Friday’s close of $28.67 after the news hit of the Microsoft offer withdrawal. (Reuters.com)

Does Yang have a plan to brace against this storm? Sources familiar with the subject predict that “Yahoo is likely to push for an advertising partnership with Web search leader Google Inc.,” as reported by Reuters.com.

People with knowledge of the situation are reported as stating Yahoo!’s strategy may take the road of making a deal with an alternative Internet media company such as Time Warner Inc.’s AOL.

Yahoo may also be facing a storm of shareholder lawsuits for rejecting Microsoft’s $47.5 billion takeover bid according to Reuters.com’s “Yahoo may face lawsuit flood after talks collapse.“

Jerry Yang writes in his Yodel Anecdotal Blog, “So, what’s next? With Microsoft’s withdrawal, we’ll be better able to focus our energy on growing our industry leadership and maximizing value for stockholders.” Yang continues, “We live and work in a competitive world and the Web is only going to get more competitive. Executing on our strategic plan is what matters most.”

The drama may not be over. Stay tuned.

Microsoft rescinded its proposal to purchase Yahoo! Inc. following last ditch efforts to reach mutually amicable terms by sweetening the bid to $33 per share or roughly $5 billion. Yahoo stood firm in its selling price of $37 per share.

Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft Corporation have been in a stalemate since Microsoft offered $4.6 billion to purchase Yahoo! on January 31, 2008. Recent reports have indicated that Microsoft would raise the bid, instigate a hostile takeover or walk away from the offer.

Michigan native and CEO of Microsoft Corporation, Steve Ballmer, wrote of his decision to withdraw in a published letter to Jerry Yang, Yahoo! Inc. CEO, on May 3, 2008, “I am disappointed that Yahoo! has not moved towards accepting our offer. I first called you with our offer on January 31 because I believed that a combination of our two companies would have created real value for our respective shareholders and would have provided consumers, publishers, and advertisers with greater innovation and choice in the marketplace. Ballmer continued, “In our conversations this week, we conveyed our willingness to raise our offer to $33.00 per share, reflecting again our belief in this collective opportunity.”

The software giant’s Chief Executive Officer declared that Yahoo’s current path to implement a search partnership with Google influenced the decision explaining that “such an arrangement with the dominant search provider would make an acquisition of Yahoo! undesirable to us for a number of reasons.” Ballmer officially withdrew the bid by stating “Accordingly, your apparent plan to pursue such an arrangement in the event of a proxy contest or exchange offer leads me to the firm decision not to pursue such a path. Instead, I hereby formally withdraw Microsoft’s proposal to acquire Yahoo!”.

Finally, Ballmer reiterates in closing, “But clearly a deal is not to be.”

Yahoo’s CEO, Jerry Yang, did not respond to Microsoft’s deadline last weekend to accept the software giant’s uninvited acquisition bid. Yang’s corporate baby, Yahoo!, took a second seat in the limelight. He had a more pressing once in a life time event to concentrate on – the birth of his baby girl.

The thirty-nine-year old, Yang and his wife, Akiko Yamazaki, welcomed the arrival of their second daughter as reported by Kara Swisher at All Things Digital.

The co-founder of Yahoo! took the corporate reins last year of the 14-year-old Sunnyvale, California company. Born in Taiwan, Yang’s remarkable story of overcoming obstacles is an inspiring American rags to riches saga.

Immigrating in 1978 with his widowed mother and younger brother, ten-year-old Yang arrived in the U.S. knowing only one word of English, shoe. The family settled in San Jose, California where the bright adolescent excelled. In high school, Yang played tennis and landed the position of student council president.

The college bound prospect received a number of scholarship offers and chose Stanford University. As an electrical major, he met fellow student, David Filo. The pair put their brilliant minds together and co created the Yahoo! Internet navigational guide in April 1994. The pair co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in April 1995. Yahoo! was born.

Yahoo went public in 1996 and Yang became a millionaire overnight. The newly acquired wealth did not taint the unassuming Yahoo co-founder. “He was very humble,” said former colleague Jim Brock as reported by InsideBayArea.com. “The first day I joined Yahoo, he said, ‘Never forget the engineers. They are the kings and queens of the company”.

Yang stood by his baby during the dot-com crisis. One associate described him as “Yahoo to the core.” When things were tough, he could have abandoned ship, but “he stayed, worked really hard, and continued to drive things”.

The corporate baby takes second place for the attention of the over comer, Yang. We hope the Yangs will be able to enjoy the moment with their new baby and relish the calm in the eye of the storm.

Microsoft Corporation’s board of directors met on Wednesday to evaluate the software giant’s next step in the attempt to pursue Yahoo! Inc. On the top of the agenda was the consideration of raising the bid to avoid the quest of a hostile takeover.

After emerging from the meeting, Microsoft’s board had not reached a definite conclusion according to an unnamed source as reported by The Wall Street Journal. The directors gave CEO, Steve Ballmer “broad discretion to either go hostile or abandon the Yahoo pursuit”. The software forerunner is expected to make an announcement before week’s end.

Michigan native, Steve Ballmer, has a big decision to make. This one choice may be the biggest of his entire career. The delay of the final monumental decision indicates the tremendous stakes involved. The outcome could change the Internet landscape for millions of customers and advertisers forever.

In stiff opposition, Yahoo’s board has indicated that the company is worth significantly more that the $31 per share or 44.6 billion that Microsoft offered on January 31. The predictions of analysts have indicated that Yahoo’s director board may be holding out for $40 per share.

Yahoo, the most visited Internet website according Nielsen//NetRatings, holds two trump cards that could prevent a hostile takeover attempt: the potential sealing of the Google advertising partnership and the possibility of merging online operations with Time Warner Inc.’s AOL.

A major “Internet-mark” was announced early this month proclaiming that China has surpassed the U.S. in Internet use. According to Forbes.com, Internet users in China spend approximately 2 billion hours a week online, whereas the surfers in the United States logged 129 million weekly hours.

CEO and chairman of Beijing based Sohu.com, Dr. Charles Zhang, delivered the announcement before the opening bell at Nasdaq last month. Zhang is reported as stating that Internet users in China number from 150 million to 200 million and that his company’s Web site is among the top 5 most visited sites in the world.

Actual Chinese statistics are difficult to gather, however. The average user in China is estimated as spending 15.9 weekly hours online as opposed to the average U.S. surfer spending approximately 1 hour per week. Zhang is quoted as stating, “People log onto the Internet and Sohu.com because, in China, there is no Forbes, Reuters or The Washington Post. Print media was all state-controlled and official, and the Internet filled this void.”

Internet population in the U.S. is estimated at approximately 71% of the population [Nielsen NetRatings], while the only 17% of the China population is connected according the USA Today. China’s population is reported as having 1.3 billion people, while in contrast the USA’s estimates are 304 million people. The Chinese estimations indicate a tremendous growth potential with global possibilities.

Three of China’s most popular Web sites are Baidu.com, Sina.com and Sohu.com reportedly ranking among the top ten most popular Internet sites in the world. Baidu.com is the Chinese search engine forerunner; Sina.com is a leading online media company and mobile value-added service, and Sohu.com is the search engine chosen as the 2008 Beijing Olympics official Web site.

Directors of Microsoft Corporation will be gathered at a conference on Wednesday, April 30th analyze the software giant’s next move in the ongoing pursuit of Yahoo! Inc.

Those familiar with the subject are reported as stating that an announcement could be made at the meeting according The Wall Street Journal. The undisclosed informants also leaked that “announcement could come following the meeting.” In light of Yahoo! and Microsoft having reached a brick wall in negotiations over the $44.6 billion offer, the meeting’s result may end in Microsoft’s last stand with a decision to raise that offer from between $32 to $33 per share.

The leak from “people familiar with the subject” may be a calculated move in Microsoft’s game plan to pressure Yahoo’s board to fold and sell. The informant stated that Yahoo’s board is holding out for the “upper $30s” and that Microsoft is reluctant to pursue a hostile takeover and may walk away from the game table entirely or at least for now.

Apparently, the deal that Yahoo made with Google to incorporate the search engine giant’s search gave Yahoo the playing hand and changed the “power of negotiation”.

Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft will lead his board of troops in the final decision. Ballmer had reportedly been vacillating recently about the paramount decision to push away from the table or to raise the bid.

The D-Day of April 26 that Microsoft Corporation’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, set as the “deadline day” for Yahoo to accept the proposed offer of January 31 for $44.6 billion passed with no word from either company. The silence is deafening as investors and the tech world wait and speculate the next move. What will happen next?

Ballmer may be facing one of the “biggest decisions of his career” according to the Wall Street Journal. He may decide to simply push away from the game table and call it a day or to continue playing and initiate the “largest hostile takeover battle in tech-industry history.”

What would a full scale hostile takeover look like? Founder of Netscape, Mark Andreessen, conducted a comprehensive analysis in his blog post, If Microsoft goes fully hostile on Yahoo. Andreessen consulted the expertise of several corporate attorneys to analyze the possibilities that may transpire including Microsoft launching a hostile takeover, raising the offer, walking away, or for Yahoo to surrender and accept the bid or of the last possibility the he calls the “White Knight” where another company steps in offering Yahoo a more lucrative price. Anderson continues to fully evaluate each case scenario with comprehensive clarity.

Referencing the 2005 takeover of Peoplesoft by Oracle and describing it as the technology industry’s historic major hostile conquest, Andreessen explains that take over battles “practically never happened in technology.” He continues to explain that the general consensus was that technology takeovers would not work because employees would leave and the acquired company’s business would collapse.

Andreessen concludes with “My bet is that hostile takeovers, particularly of larger and more mature companies, are going to become increasingly common in our industry.”

The Oracle Peoplesoft ended after an 18-month confrontation. We may be watching one long drawn conflict.