Sometimes I wonder if HipMojo.com, the blog covering matters in high-tech, intellectual property, the search wars, online video and the Web in general is not actually a blog covering Fox Interactive Media’s journeys.
Of course, that might have something to do with the fact that Mr. Rupert Murdoch’s born a day before I am. Well, you know what I mean.
Then again, maybe the reason I write so much about FIM is because the company has implemented a Barry-Bondsesque’s strategy to make up for lost time on the Web with acquisitions of MySpace, Scout.com and IGN and has become one of the more entertaining companies to cover in the Web space…
Anyway, today I learned on TheStreet.com that as MySpace continues shopping for a search partner (read my free, pro-bono advice to Messers Rupert Murdoch, FIM head Ross Levinsohn and FIM COO / IGN CEO Mark Jung on what to do vis-a-vis search here)
the No. 2 search engine, Yahoo!, is “less interested” in a deal [with MySpace], the paper says. None of the companies could immediately be reached for comment on the story.
I could not help but ask: why is that? Yahoo! is struggling to make up the difference in market share between itself and Google. Especially since it was revealed that Google once again increased its lead, here, or as shown by the table below:
|
April 2005 |
April 2006 |
% Gain/Loss |
| Google |
36.5% |
43.1% |
6.6 |
| Yahoo! |
30.7% |
28% |
(2.7) |
| MSN |
16.1% |
12.9% |
(3.2) |
| Time Warner |
9% |
6.9% |
(2.1) |
| Ask |
6.1% |
5.8% |
(0.3) |
Source: comScore Networks
In that light, why would Yahoo! not go all out and try to secure a deal with MySpace?
Then it hit me. Yahoo! just tried to convince analysts that its new search recipe will lead to higher monetization. And, the simple truth is that as wonderful as MySpace is for its audience and reach, it is not a search destination. As such, the propensity for MySpace’s 65M users to search will be low. Moreover, even when people would search in Yahoo! (or any search provider’s) search box, the eventual click through rates on the search results and accompanying ads will be lesser than average, further driving down monetization.
This will not help Yahoo! at all.
It might help Microsoft, cause MSFT does not really care about monetization of search right now, it simply wants a bigger market share.
And while the search company who will secure the MySpace deal will increase market share, it will not necessarily lead to better margins on search. What I mean is that even the “contextual ads” that are so prevalent now would obtain less than stellar CTR’s. So in other words, given Yahoo!’s stock market inferiority complex, it does not make sense for them to pursue the deal. I own shares in Yahoo! and MSFT by the way.
What this shows once again is that MySpace should not adopt a me-too search strategy by simply copying and pasting any search company’s code on its site. It could do that as well, but it should instead continue to position itself as a unique player in search: the search of and for people. Over time, people can say “I MySpaced John,” and not ”I Googled John.”
Yes, those are violins you hear in the background, but think about it: somewhat inadvertantly, MySpace has built the largest database - 65M large - of the world wide web’s population.
That is powerful stuff. The people on Google go there to search. The people on Amazon go there to shop. The people on MySpace go there to have a space and find other people’s space. As such, the direction MySpace should take is just that: become the de facto directory of human beings on the Web.
I first reported on this a few weeks ago, click here. I am not saying that it cannot / should not have a default, standard Web search function, all I am saying is that by forcing searching down the throat of MySpacers, it will lose its intrinsic value of being the most representative sample of the WWW’s population online.
What LinkedIn and company are trying to do, MySpace has accomplished and then some.
Once again FIM, file this under “A” for
- Advice You Didn’t Ask For; and
- Assuming You Care.
Subscribe:
June 7th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
[…] Despite the rumor that MSN, Yahoo or Google might power their search, those sites probably realize that a site like MySpace will drive down network CPCs, network CTR (click through rates on ads) and hurt their business and not help it. People are simply not on MySpace to search for cars, travel and anything else that yields high CPC (cost per clicks). To get a better sense of why that is, click here. To read on an alternative search strategy MySpace could undertake, click here. […]
June 13th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
[…] Now, forget the fact that Yahoo! currently powers MySpace’s search engine (at least the paid ads part), and that Yahoo! has said on or off the record that they are not interested in maintaining that relationship at just any cost (click here for that). […]
August 22nd, 2006 at 1:36 pm
[…] - FIM’s Search Strategy Soul-Searching - Is MySpace a Fad? It is according to CNN/Money.com - How much is MySpace’s search business worth, anyway? Part 1 - Did Google Overpay for Fox Interactive Media’s Search Business? Part 2 - Crazy idea of the Day: Should News Corp. spin off Myspace and IGN? […]