Komodo Online Marketing

Professional Web Development and Online Marketing

Articles by Allie Mims Archive

Articles and blog posts by Allie Mims, co-founder of Komodo Online Marketing.

Social News Site Mixx Adds Private Message Functionality

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Today Mixx added private mail functionality to its site. Mixx joins Propeller as the only two social news sites to offer private mail. Currently, you are only allowed to send private messages to your Mixx “friends.”

I’m sure there will be some folks out there that will say that offering private mail functionality is bad for social news sites, because it will encourage shameless marketers and promoters to create voting blocks and send messages back and forth on what to vote up and what to vote down. I think its a good move by Mixx because it’s just another little thing that differentiates them from the mighty Digg. Plus, if marketers, promoters, and spammers start using private mail to artificially inflate votes on their submissions, Mixx admins will surely be able to track messages and who is sending what to who. As with most socially focused sites, there are systems in place at Mixx to report spammers. So if users become “friends” with some one who turns out to be a spammer, they can simply report that they are getting spam private messages.

So do you think this is a good move by Mixx? Let us know.

Yahoo is Feeling the Pressure from Microsoft’s Bid

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Yahoo! is feeling cornered after Microsoft made its takeover bid last week. The Yahoo! board said it would take its time to review the Microsoft bid. They haven’t acted on the bid yet.

The New York Times posted an article reviewing the current situation with some great commentary from Wall Street analysts. The article also explores some other options open to Yahoo! if they decide to decline the Microsoft bid, including an advertising partnership with Google, courting other buyers, or forcing a leveraged buyout to take the company private.

Some highlights from the article:

But if Yahoo spurns Microsoft, analysts believe it probably will have to swallow its pride and forge an advertising partnership with Google if the alliance could win antitrust clearance.

Under this scenario, Yahoo would rely on Google to run its search engine while joining thousands of other Web sites that depend on the Internet search leader for a steady stream of ad revenue generated from text-based links that produce commissions with every click.

But getting Google’s advertising help probably wouldn’t be enough to trump Microsoft’s offer by itself. To placate shareholders, Yahoo probably would have to line up enough money to pay a special dividend or perhaps even take the company private in a leveraged buyout.

The list of so-called ”white knights” willing to come to Yahoo’s rescue appears to be dwindling. Several of the most logical candidates, including News Corp., AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp., reportedly have no interest in trying to top Microsoft’s bid.

Yahoo’s board conceivably could even turn down Microsoft on the grounds that the current offer grossly undervalues the company, given its stock traded as high as high as $34.08 in late October.

If Yahoo assumes that stance, it might provoke a showdown at its annual meeting in a few months. Microsoft has until March 13 to nominate its own slate of directors if it tries to seize control of Yahoo’s board.

What do you think Yahoo should do? Should they take the Microsoft offer, partner with Google, or something else? Let us know.

I personally like the suggestion made by the Merrill Lynch analyst Justin Post, who “believes Yahoo should dangle the prospect of a Google partnership to persuade Microsoft to raise its bid and then accept the higher offer.” Microsoft could call their bluff believing that either Yahoo won’t approach Google or that regulators would deny the partnership on anti-trust grounds. I don’t believe they would call the bluff though. I think Microsoft is just too eager to get this deal done.

IFA 2008 is Only Days Away

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The 48th IFA annual franchise convention is only a few days away. SEO Komodo is exhibiting at booth #117. If you’re going to be at the IFA convention in Orlando stop by, say hello, and see what we are all about. If you are also going to be exhibiting at the convention, let us know where your booth is and we’ll stop by.

In the days leading up to the convention we will be putting the finishing touches on our new site layout. We should have it up and running in the next few days. Stay tuned…

Microsoft Proposes Acquisition of Yahoo! for $31 per Share

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The proposed deal, valued at approximately $44.6 billion in cash and stock, would provide a 62% premium to current trading price for Yahoo! stockholders. Microsoft claims the combined entity would be a more competitive company while offering greater value to stockholders and a better choice for customers.

Read the full press release.

Some highlights from the release:

The online advertising market is growing at a very fast pace, from over $40 billion in 2007 to nearly $80 billion by 2010. The resulting benefits of scale along with the associated capital costs for advertising platform providers make this a time of industry consolidation and convergence. Today this market is increasingly dominated by one player. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo! can offer a competitive choice while better fulfilling the needs of customers and partners.

The combination will create a more efficient company with synergies in four areas: scale economics driven by audience critical mass and increased value for advertisers; combined engineering talent to accelerate innovation; operational efficiencies through elimination of redundant cost; and the ability to innovate in emerging user experiences such as video and mobile. Microsoft believes these four areas will generate at least $1 billion in annual synergy for the combined entity.

Microsoft has developed a plan and process that will include the employees of both companies to focus on the integration of the combined business. Microsoft intends to offer significant retention packages to Yahoo! engineers, key leaders and employees across all disciplines.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.



Komodo Links: Anonymous Google Bomb, Open Access Wireless Spectrum, and G-phone by Dell?

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Introducing Komodo Links, stories and posts from the news world and blogosphere that we found interesting. Yes I know posting links is nothing new and that pretty much 99% of blogs do it. This is just our version. We will probably start out posting links to our favorite stories once a week to start. It could be more than once a week real soon, just don’t hold me to it. So without further ado….our Komodo Links for this week: