Two years after conceding his company erred in failing to develop its own search engine, Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer boasted Thursday of progress in fighting industry leaders Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060504/micro...lmer.html?.v=4

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My money is on Bill.

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lol

You guys know that MSN just launched it's adcenter ? Its now open to the public to sign up: http://advertising.msn.com/microsoft-adcenter

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Apt A gogo.com - NY Apartment Rentals and Sales
PrecisionSEO real estate web design

There is a product cycle with everything.

Google changed the Internet World by having RELEVANT search results. Prior to that, the "Portals" didn't care if their results were accurate or not because the less accurate they were, the more likely you were to stick around and click on an ad.

When a product is entirely new, they have an edge and that edge lasts for awhile. No one else with the exception of a miserable attempt by Teoma even came close, though Teoma performed excellently for about two entire weeks. Then they blew it by not indexing fast enough and by focusing on paid inclusion. Ask.com now runs on the Teoma engine and is a distant fourth.

Yahoo is number two. How could they not be, after having the number one or two site on the web for-almost-ever and starting off with the most fantastic directory. They will probably get better.

MSN isn't there yet, but they can throw money at the problem. Lots of money. Gobs of money. And they will KEEP throwing money at the problem until they get it right. I don't think that silly scrolling page is "it" -- but eventually...they will earn more and more search engine market share.

...that's how it works. The pioneer doesn't grow as fast after a while.

And someday, some new guy may come along with a better idea and be the new guy on the block.

Google is getting kind of bloated, like a fast food store whose menu has grown too big. Someone who is lean and mean may come along and start chipping away. Ask has the tools, but not the will. So it will probably be someone new, someday.

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Terry Light - Professional Contrarian
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Author for RealEstate ABC (Creator, too)

Mine as well!

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There is no possible way that MSN is contributing 11% of searches for our industry - I wonder if there is any way to get more accurate "industry specific" stats.

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Sure they do and I can prove it..................11% of us numb nutz have new sites, and MSN is the first to place us in the SERP's, so we do a daily search of the keywords we are placed in to boost our ego's to get us mentally through the "G" sandbox.

You have to admit, it sounds plausable.

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- that’s me sometimes for sure! - whenever some keywords don’t do it for me in Google I hit msn up - at the same time though google likes me for others more than msn.

Here is an example which I am always curious about,

Keyword, "puyallup realtor" in google #1. At msn its out of range, but my REW listing is first page in msn for the same keyword.

“Puyallup real estate” in MSN is #2 -- Google to far back to matter, but my directory listing in reals and REW come up first page in google..

Sort of a flip flop – any idea why?

MSN vs Google is like GM vs Saab. They're so big that if they start losing..."screw it, we'll just BUY them!" They've got so many resources and are so much more diversified it seems they can't lose.

Also don't forget the lessons of Microsoft history...the one thing they excel at is taking/buying/stealing OTHER companies ideas and refining them into a more marketable, superior product. It's their MO. Only logical that it will follow in the SE market.

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