Google and AOL make a deal

Augmented Reality 1 Minute

I was listening to Bloomberg radio on Sirius on Friday and they had an expert on that said that it must be a bad day at Microsoft because Google made a deal with AOL (TDavid is wondering which way this all will be spun). Now, I don’t know about the executive offices, but in building 18 we were a little disappointed, but no one was sitting in their offices crying or anything like that (which is how the panel made us sound). It’s always interesting how the press plays up business conflict.

Oh, and to TDavid’s questioning: why must everything be spun? Sometimes in business you lose. Sometimes you win. The trick is to increase your average. When I sold cameras I didn’t close every sale but I tried to close every one.

Sometimes, though, when it looks like you’ve lost things come back around. Remember, Bill Gates didn’t want the operating system business. He sent IBM away. We all know what happened next.

We’ve had more than our fair share of wins.

For instance, Lorin Olsen, CTO of Sprint recently announced he’s joining Microsoft. That’s a huge win. I met Lorin last year and he’s whip smart and a real interesting guy. Can’t wait to see what he’s working on. He was at Sprint for 19 years.

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Published by Robert Scoble

I give you a front-row seat on the future. Focusing most of my efforts now on next-generation augmented reality and artificial intelligence, AKA "mixed reality." SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER: http://clevermoe.com/scobleizer-news/ BUY OUR NEW BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Fourth-Transformation-Robert-Scoble/dp/1539894444 "The Fourth Transformation: How augmented reality and artificial intelligence will change everything." WATCH MY LATEST SPEECHES: State of VR with Philip Rosedale (done in VR itself, very cool): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zAA1EVGUZU At GEOINT, June 2017: http://trajectorymagazine.com/glimpse-new-world/ Augmented World Expo, June 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4xHILvLD8E At Leade.rs, April 2017: https://youtu.be/52_0JshgjXI +++++++++++ BIO: Scoble gives you a front-row seat on the future. Literally. He had the first ride in the first Tesla. Siri was launched in his house. He's been the first to share all sorts of technologies and companies with you, from Flipboard to Pandora to Instagram. Today he's focusing on mixed reality, AKA "next-generation augmented reality" which will include a new user interface for EVERYTHING in your life (IoT, Smart Cities, driverless cars, robots, drones, etc). That's based on his view thanks to his past experience as futurist at Rackspace. Best place to find Scoble? On his Facebook profile at https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble He has been a technology blogger since 2000, was one of five people who built Microsoft's Channel 9 video blog/community, worked at Fast Company Magazine running its TV efforts, and has been part of technology media businesses since 1993. ++++++++ SPEAKER PITCH: Apple and Facebook now have revealed their Augmented Reality strategies, which means your business needs one too. Rely on Robert Scoble, the world's top authority on AR, to bring to your conference what businesses should do next. SPEECH ABSTRACT #1: TITLE: The Fourth Transformation: What's next in mixed reality (AR and AI) and the future of technology? Here's an example of this talk at Leade.rs in Paris in April, 2017: https://youtu.be/52_0JshgjXI Why "the Fourth Transformation?" Soon we will have phones and glasses that do full on augmented reality. Everything you look at will potentially be augmented. This world is coming in late 2017 with a new iPhone from Apple, amongst other products. Microsoft is betting everything on its HoloLens glasses that do mixed reality and the industry is spending many billions of dollars in R&D and funding new companies like Magic Leap. This future will be the user interface for IoT, Smart Cities, autonomous cars, robots, drones, and your TV. This is a big deal and Robert will take you through what mixed reality is and how it will change every business. Learn more about Robert's speaking style and contact his agent at http://odemanagement.com/robert-scoble/Robert-Scoble.html ++++++++ SPEECH ABSTRACT #2: "The Next Two Clicks of Moore's Law." Over the next four years, or two clicks of Moore's Law, a ton about our technology world will change. Scoble will bring you the best from his travels visiting R&D labs, startups, and innovators around the world. He views the world through his rose-colored-mixed-reality glasses, which will be the new user interface for self driving cars, Smart Cities, IoT, and many other things in our world. He'll send you off with some lessons for companies both large and small. ++++++++ SPEECH ABSTRACT #3: "Personalized Meaning: What is Augmented Reality For?" As we enter a far more technological world where even cars drive themselves, I predict we'll see a blowback toward the analog, more authentic world. What role does augmented reality play in both worlds? Get Scoble's insight into where augmented reality is going, see tons of real-world demos, and understand what he means by 'personalized meaning.' CONTACT: If you are looking to contact me, email is best: scobleizer@gmail.com. ++++++++ ENDORSEMENTS: IZEA Top 25 Tech Influencers: https://izea.com/2017/07/07/25-top-tech-influencers/ Time: One of the top 140 Twitterers! FT: One of the five most influential Twitterers! Inc. Top 5 on list of Tech Power Players You Need to Know: http://www.inc.com/john-rampton/30-power-players-in-tech-you-need-to-know.html Next Reality: #4 on top 50 AR influencer list: https://next.reality.news/news/nr50-next-realitys-50-people-watch-augmented-mixed-reality-0177454/

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12 thoughts on “Google and AOL make a deal”

  3. AOL was a win:win deal which ever way the deal went.

    If MSN had won the deal then they would have removed 12% of Googles revenue (Goolge are a one revenue pony) and that would have hurt them badly. MSN’s reach would have increased slightly and a few of AOL’s content properties would have been nice.

    But as MSN lost then all it means is Google has paid $1bn dollars to keep its same partner and the same revenue stream. An expensive excercise just to keep the status quo!

    AOL are the only winners. They are losing market share to the GYM club and Time Warner was not going to bail them out. So selling themselves to the highest bidder to get some money is still a short term fix.

    Only time will tell but I think AOL will become an Albatross around Google’s neck. So either way I think MSN wins even if the better win was stuff Google with a major lose to their revenue stream. As in all wars this battle was lost by MSN but the cost of victory has seriously weakened Google’s ability in the next battle. Remember Microsoft is not a one revenue pony and still has some $50bn to invest when the time is right.

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  4. AOL was a win:win deal which ever way the deal went.

    If MSN had won the deal then they would have removed 12% of Googles revenue (Goolge are a one revenue pony) and that would have hurt them badly. MSN’s reach would have increased slightly and a few of AOL’s content properties would have been nice.

    But as MSN lost then all it means is Google has paid $1bn dollars to keep its same partner and the same revenue stream. An expensive excercise just to keep the status quo!

    AOL are the only winners. They are losing market share to the GYM club and Time Warner was not going to bail them out. So selling themselves to the highest bidder to get some money is still a short term fix.

    Only time will tell but I think AOL will become an Albatross around Google’s neck. So either way I think MSN wins even if the better win was stuff Google with a major lose to their revenue stream. As in all wars this battle was lost by MSN but the cost of victory has seriously weakened Google’s ability in the next battle. Remember Microsoft is not a one revenue pony and still has some $50bn to invest when the time is right.

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  5. mono: that story is legend. IBM went down to DRI Research (Gates sent them there cause they had the CPM operating system). Gary Kildall was the guy who ran that. They messed up for a variety of reasons and IBM came back and said something like “we can’t deal with those DRI folks, can you find us something else?”

    An employee of Gates knew about a local Seattle guy who had a clone of CPM. They bought that from him for about $65,000. Turned it into DOS. And went on to build what you know of Microsoft today.

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  6. mono: that story is legend. IBM went down to DRI Research (Gates sent them there cause they had the CPM operating system). Gary Kildall was the guy who ran that. They messed up for a variety of reasons and IBM came back and said something like “we can’t deal with those DRI folks, can you find us something else?”

    An employee of Gates knew about a local Seattle guy who had a clone of CPM. They bought that from him for about $65,000. Turned it into DOS. And went on to build what you know of Microsoft today.

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  7. Robert,

    Thanks for the kind (and sufficiently exaggerated) words. Who do I write the honorarium check to? 😉

    BTW, my first assignment for Microsoft is going to be in KC as an ATS. I am thrilled to get into sales support. For the last twenty-five years, I’ve done just about everything on every conceivable computing platform – except sales. So this will be one of the biggest challenges to date! And once I master the sales thing, who knows what comes next?

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  8. Robert,

    Thanks for the kind (and sufficiently exaggerated) words. Who do I write the honorarium check to? 😉

    BTW, my first assignment for Microsoft is going to be in KC as an ATS. I am thrilled to get into sales support. For the last twenty-five years, I’ve done just about everything on every conceivable computing platform – except sales. So this will be one of the biggest challenges to date! And once I master the sales thing, who knows what comes next?

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  11. One further clarification is needed. I was not the CTO at Sprint, though I worked through the IT CTO office. For the past few years, I have been a humble senior manager / senior architect. The new CTO of Sprint Nextel is Barry West. Again, thanks for the promotion. But I want to make sure Microsoft’s Geek Blogger gets the record straight!

    -Lorin-

    BTW, there is a larger and more interesting thread from this deal. With Microsoft and Yahoo agreeing to IM interoperability, and Google and AOL cozying up (in general), I wonder if Yahoo will draw closer to Microsoft or try to go it alone. Right now, they seem to be awfully stranded. I am sure that there are some things brewing behind the scenes, but I do love to speculate…

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  12. One further clarification is needed. I was not the CTO at Sprint, though I worked through the IT CTO office. For the past few years, I have been a humble senior manager / senior architect. The new CTO of Sprint Nextel is Barry West. Again, thanks for the promotion. But I want to make sure Microsoft’s Geek Blogger gets the record straight!

    -Lorin-

    BTW, there is a larger and more interesting thread from this deal. With Microsoft and Yahoo agreeing to IM interoperability, and Google and AOL cozying up (in general), I wonder if Yahoo will draw closer to Microsoft or try to go it alone. Right now, they seem to be awfully stranded. I am sure that there are some things brewing behind the scenes, but I do love to speculate…

    Like

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