Originally Posted by wendellanderson

The title of this DaniWeb article is misleading and the author needs to be careful of how "quoting" someone needs to be kept in context.

Just because Steve Ballmer "says" Microsoft "ceded" Search to Google does not automatically or explicitly imply that Microsoft had a choice in whether they lost the search advantage to Google.

In past occurrences, Microsoft has lost out to many competitors - even when they fought tooth-and-nail to get on top or to even be remotely competitive.

Therefore please indicate what is a quote as opposed to a potential or possible reality.

W. Anderson
wanderson@nac.net

Originally Posted by MktgRob

First of all, the blog you are referencing is an opinion piece and when the author uses the title he did he is simple stating how he heard what Ballmer said. He is not implying that Ballmer implied that they had no choice in the outcome of the SE wars.

Second, I agree with the blog from the point of view that after my 19 years in the tech industry on the marketing side I can honestly say that Microsoft, in a vain attempt to be all things to all people, made a half-hearted effort in regards to competing with Google as compared to the Google effort. But, in Microsoft's defense, Google was just a search engine while Microsoft was and still is a full blown software development company that has proved successful in a multitude of areas where Google does not. So Google was perhaps more focused and put more of an effort in the Microsoft in regards to the SEs but Microsoft is still a more multi-faceted entity that does not rely solely on its search engine for success.

Originally Posted by wendellanderson

19 or thirty years in Marketing and the "multi-faceted" entity of Microsoft has nothing to do with the point I made.

There is no evidence that the responder can point to that verifies any "half-hearted" attempt by Microsoft in competing with Google for search dominance.

As indicated at end of my post, there are many instances when Microsoft has tried to compete quite unsuccessfully - with a "tooth and nail" effort, despite all it's [so-called] "multi-faceted" capabilities.

This is based on "factual" history of events that I witnessed in more than twenty five years as a international technology professional and consultant - with high levels of affiliations to IBM, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, several Technology Universities and indirectly with NASA - not "fluff" marketing.

W. Anderson
wanderson@kimalcorp.org
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