A deal giving
Few think there’s any short-term prospect the company will vault past
“This is a great deal for
Redmond, Wash.-based
Like most of the other smaller initiatives taking place to bolster
But
Microsoft
Microsoft Gets Users, Demographics In Facebook Search Pact
Facebook to redesign and reduce clutter
Having nearly tripled its audience and added about 20,000 new applications over the past year, Facebook Inc.’s popular online hangout is about to undergo a housecleaning.
Visitors who can’t stand the clutter that’s been piling up will be glad to see that the site’s new look sweeps disparate bits of information into categories marked by tabs at the top of each user’s customized home page.
Basic personal background and interests will be filed under an “info” tab, for instance, while news about users’ buddies’ latest activities will land under a “feed” tab, pictures will be corralled in a “photo” section and applications will be easily located under a “programs” tab. That content is now scattered, creating a confusing mishmash that has frustrated some Facebook users.
The facelift, in the works since January, is to debut in June.
Besides tidying the site, the overhaul should give users more control over their profiles, Facebook managers said Wednesday as they previewed the redesign at the startup’s Palo Alto headquarters. Users will be able to magnify information they want to emphasize and downplay other features, for example.
Even so, many users are likely to protest, said Mark Slee, the Facebook product manager overseeing the facelift. Continue Reading »
Why Microsoft isn’t buying Facebook
When Microsoft walked away from its blockbuster bid for Yahoo, the media sought desperately to keep the news coming even when there wasn’t much left to say. That seems to be how The Wall Street Journal came up with the notion that Microsoft had approached Facebook about an acquisition. It’s not true.
Good sources at Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) recently have told me several things. First, that absent a shocking new development, the Yahoo pursuit really is over. Second, that there is no near-term interest in “replacing” the Yahoo deal with the purchase of another giant Internet business. Instead, smaller acquisitions of various sizes will continue over time.
Finally, there is virtually no likelihood of a deal soon either to buy Facebook or to increase Microsoft’s share in the popular social networking site. Facebook remains of great interest to Microsoft management, but the fact that Microsoft’s investment bankers may have contacted Facebook says little, if anything, about the true intentions of their client.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg isn’t even around these days to broker a mega-deal. He’s on a long around-the-world vacation trip, and is currently in India.
Last year, Microsoft paid a royal price for a tiny piece of Facebook - $240 million for about 1.6%. Much has been made of the $15 billion valuation that the deal placed on Facebook. Continue Reading »
Microsoft planning to buy Facebook
Wall Street Journal has reported that Microsoft and Facebook are in talks with each other over possible merger.
A Microsoft source claimed that its financial team is in contact with Facebook’s team to see if they are willing to sell or not. The talk is in early stage and no time frame could be given for the deal.
Both companies have been previously working with each other. Microsoft has been brokering banner ads for Facebook since 2006 and acquired full advertising rights last year as part of a $240m investment package. The deal gained headlines when it was revealed that Microsoft would gain only 1.6 per cent ownership in the deal, placing Facebook’s value at upwards of $15bn.
Microsoft declined to comment on Facebook deal.
Just recently they walked away from Yahoo after placing a bid of $44.6 billion. Yahoo declined the offer after a series of negotiations.
Facebook’s collision course with the big portals
Mark Zuckerberg describes Facebook as a service designed to help people communicate better, primarily through the social graph, which is the network of connections and relationships between people.
The social graph, he said, is the reason Facebook works. The popular social applications, such as Flirtable, FunWall and SuperPoke, built on the Facebook platform, are only a small part of Facebook’s bigger ambition to help people communicate better.
In fact, Facebook is on a collision course with the more mature Web colonies–AOL, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo.
One of the key metrics of a major portal is stickiness–the number of applications used per member and time spent on the site. Communications services, such as e-mail, instant messaging, group chat, and forums, have proven to be very sticky.
Facebook is about to introduce a basic chat service and have some rudimentary e-mail capabilities. While Facebook executives have been cagey about specific plans to build more capable communications applications, they will evolve to be competitive with what AOL, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo offer. Continue Reading »