Is AOL The Key to Microsoft 'Killing' Google?

VK writes "When Steve Ballmer yelled at a departing Microsoft employee that he would "kill Google" we had no idea just how direct a method he had in mind. Buying all or part of AOL may be the first part of the master plan, as Google relies heavily on the advertising pages that come from AOL, since it now syndicates its search to Google." Update: 09/23 19:20 GMT by J : As our readers pointed out, the original and Reg reprint both typoed "Yahoo" for AOL. Fixed.

Comments

Portal Wars

[RAMMS EIN]

``That article also mentions AOL's goal to become a web portal, with AIM, AOL Music and MapQuest drawing users in. AIM I imagine is growing, as new preteens start using it all the time, but does this really make them any money?''

I think that's what you're looking for, and you said it yourself. By acquiring AOL, Microsoft gains a huge customer base, with many people accessing AOLs portal and services. Microsoft runs similar services and a portal themselves. So they buy out one competitor, consolidate the services with their own, and become stronger to crush two other competitors; Yahoo! and Google.

And yes, advertising does make you money. At least, it seems it does for Google.