Bill Gates' Latest Plan To Steal Google Users: Bribe 'Em
from the profit-sharing,-Microsoft-style dept
Remember all those urban legends about Bill Gates paying you money to forward an email? Well, perhaps it’s not so crazy after all. John Battelle is pointing to a story that suggests Bill Gates is thinking about sharing advertising revenue from MSN search with users, as a way to lure them away from Google. This isn’t a new idea, really. Random startups have tried this over the years, and it was the original basis for the startup iWon.com, which is now owned by IAC (as part of AskJeeves). Hell, there was a (very brief) period of time when Google offered to pay people for every search that was done via a search box you put on your own website — a program that never really went very far. However, all of these “we’ll pay you to do x” business models always sound… bubbly. They tend to attract scammers of all kinds, rather than simply encouraging people to use your product because it helps solve a need. Still, what would be more interesting is finding out how certain anti-trust regulators feel about that kind of move. While Microsoft should be able to do it if they want, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some companies cry foul, and claim that Microsoft is abusing their monopoly position in doing this (should they ever actually go down that path).
Comments on “Bill Gates' Latest Plan To Steal Google Users: Bribe 'Em”
OK, I'm lost
How is sharing advertising revenue on a website abusing a monopoly position in the operating system market?
Re: OK, I'm lost
Quote Bill Gates from the site: “But they don’t share these advertising revenues with the end users who help them get the revenue, Gates said. ‘Google keeps all of the money with itself,’ he added.”
I love how he makes google appear like a greedy dirty company, but yet hes made trillions off windows. Why not split some profit with the windows users since you’re using that logic? Didn’t think so.
I’ll stay with my google.
Re: Re: OK, I'm lost
Except Gates has given well over a billion to charities. People make him out to be a monster. He stepped up with a vision and gambled everything on it, and it paid off, and he’s continued to win gamble after gamble. I wish there were more people like him. I wish I was more like him, and had taken some risks.
Re: Re: Re: OK, I'm lost
Cappy,
Yeah, Bill’s in the same boat as Rockefeller. Both had a monopoly situation that made them billions and both turned into philanthropists in middle age in order to give some of it back. I, for one, don’t like the idea that I paid twice as much as Windows was worth over the five versions I’ve purchased so far, just so Bill can redirect the extra cash I spent to some charities he likes to support. I would much rather the money have stayed in my pocket in the first place.
Re: Re: Re:2 OK, I'm lost
.
Re: Re: Re:3 "Rich is an idiot"
Resorting to name-calling is a typical reponse for someone who can’t accept the truth.
Re: Re: Re:4 That too is a falacy
Actually, name caling is for those who have let their emotions overwhelm their intelect.
Since your arguments are not truth, but conjecture and opinion, your philosiphising falls flat.
Re: Re: Re: OK, I'm lost
mircosoft stolen from jobs
Mac for ever
Re: Re: Re: OK, I'm lost
The only reason that Gates has ever given a dime of money to charity is because of his wife and kids and for the PR rewards. His wealth is his score card. He want to have the best score card anywhere. He’s not altruistic, or he would not try to destory other companies. If he was really charitable he would not put companies out of business (and thus making numerous people unemployed) just to prove he can do it! Gates is a dirtbag, no matter how much he gives to charity.
“By their acts ye shall know them.”
“They draw close to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”
You also have to notice that Stinky Balmer doesn’t come close to being as nice as Gates. I guess he thinks that one guy at the top making the appearance of good-hearted generosity is enough for any company. His job is to throw chairs and rant about how he’s going to put thousands of people out of jobs. Go, Stinky!
Go ahead and say I know nothing of their real intentions. I’ll give you partial credit for that. But, you have to give me more credit for the trail of actions and consequences that are publically know about these individuals.
Re: Re: Re: OK, I'm lost
The only reason Bill (The Thief) Gatas has given Billions to charities is to keep his smily ass out of jail! He stole just about every idea from other developers to make his Billions, in an unethical and morally wrong fashion.
He’s a hacker, a scum bag and everything that no decent human being would want to be.
I’m just surprised that no one has blown him away, yet, for all his wrong-doings. However, The DOJ, the EU and recently, the Korean government have taken away some of his money that he obtained through unethical business practices.
He’s also lost Billions if not more, from everybody who has refused to pay for his grabage, bug-infested, lame excuse for software.
May Bill Gates rot in hell, where he belongs!!
Re: Re: Re: OK, I'm lost
Cappy,
Bill Gates has not given a billion to charities. The definition of given or give is “Bestowed as a gift” or ” To make a present of”. Yes, he may “give” money in your eye’s but in my eye’s when you give you ask for nothing in return. I give to charities all the time. O’l Bill cuts a check for 10 mil to some hospital then turns around and uses it as a tax write-off getting a large portion of it back in a way. Im so tired of hearing about how famous people give to charities. When they start doing it to give something back or for a good cause without writing it off, then they will have my respect.
Re: Re: Re:2 OK, I'm lost
Microsoft is essentially in the process of squandering their once omnipotent position in the marketplace. They’ve done so by making the purpose of their every maneuver to *dominate* and “sell more copies of Windows” rather than to innovate and produce ever better products in return for the insane amounts of money we’ve paid them. Then, adding insult to usury, they’ve begun to treat honest, long-term paying customers like myself like pirates who cannot be trusted. Sorry to say, my view is that the M$ culture is about as ethical and interested in customer service as music industry executives.
The result of this is the natural backlash which includes Open Source and Google which succeeded simply because it was “good”. Sadly, it’s quality has also declined and it’s showing signs that it could follow in the direction of M$.
I remain thankful that, for some unknown reason, Gates has not tried to kill off Adobe and/or Macromedia. These exemplary (compared to M$) companies continue to succeed by innovating, improving, serving the customers who support them, and having the amazing policy of not punishing honest users because there really are some pirates out there. This year, I was happy to buy Studio 8 and Creative Suite 2 for more $ than I’ve ever given M$. M$ can collect their funds for charity from some other sucker. I won’t give them another ten cents if I can avoid it. For me, Time Magazine just devalued the “#$%*! of the Year” award.
Re: OK, I'm lost
I’m kind of with Riley on this… I understand this as purely web-based approach, so even the staunchest Linux nerd can profit from MS.
It also smacks of a stupid idea..
Re: Re: OK, I'm lost
Until M$ keeps changing the interface so only Explorer users receive their credits
Not likely
Microsoft has a monopoly on search? Try telling that to Google.
Re: Not likely
windows’ default browser is IE. IE’s default homepage is MSN. i’d say thats somewhat of a monopoly.
Re: Not likely
Microsoft has a monopoly on search? Try telling that to Google.
No, you missed the point. Others would complain that Microsoft was leveraging their dominant position in one market (operating systems) to completely undercut another market (search) in a way that no one else could.
I think that Microsoft has every right to make this move (even if I question the business sense of it), but I’d bet that others would bring up the anti-trust issue very quickly.
I'm Lost
Riley,
I think its the object of paying people to use your more popular software in an attempt to squeeze someone else out.
Bad enough that you are a monopoly, now they might pay people.
Kinda like walmart. They reduce prices (in effect paying people with savings) until no one else can compete, the competition (local mom & pop stores) go tits up, then walmart raises the prices higher than the original mom & pop’s.
Same thing here, not really ethical. Puts money in peoples pockets, for the shortterm. then what?
Re: I'm Lost
Except for the fact that they (M$) are not a monopoly, neither is walmart, but that’s just stupid ol’ 6th grade social studies.
Look, the focus will be on the fact that Microsoft is using their large monetary resivoirs to subsidize and artificially compete with other search engines. Would Google see an impact? probably not, they won’t lose much of their customer base (well, what they have left after pissing off customers on their own)
But, that wouldn’t stop Google/Yahoo from suing, because c’mon it’s M$, that’s what you do with them. And it would probably knock out a few fourth rate search engines, but then again, they ARE fourth rate, so who cares, compete or die.
Re: Re: I'm Lost
You may not think Microsoft is a monopoly.
However, when there was actually a court case put before a judge to decide this, they were ruled a monopoly. I sort of think that trumps your 6th grade social studies understanding.
It’s a monopoly on desktop PC operating systems, not on search. It’s perfectly fine for them to compete with MSN search, but if they do things like integrate it into the standard windows desktop, they’re playing with fire. Which they’re not at all afraid to do, so there you go.
Re: Re: Re: MS is NOT a monopoly
That case was a sham. MS is not a monopoly…look at how Google has got MS on the defensive. If consumers have choices, there is no monopoly. MS was brought down by the clinton administration because MS didn’t play the game.
About Walmart: that is not a monopoly either. As soon as Walmart were to raise prices (after “wiping out the Mom & Pops”), there would be competitors WAITING IN LINE to undercut Walmart. And watch out: if hilary clinton is elected predident…she will do everything in her power to bring down Walmart, and the markets in general will follow (as the techs did after bill clinton attempeted to destroy MS).
Re: Re: Re:2 MS is NOT a monopoly
Microsoft has also been found to be a monopoly by the European Union, and attempting to illegally gain a monopoly by South Korea.
Re: Re: Re:3 MS is NOT a monopoly
That is just anti-Americanism on behalf of the European Union and South Korea. Blah blah blah.
Re: Re: Re:2 MS is NOT a monopoly
Quoted for agreement.
I can’t believe Microsoft is paying that aol spyware infested realplayer maker realnetworks over a billion. Real player is such a proprietary piece of crap.
Re: I'm Lost
It would really be nice for help from Bill Gates to materialize monetarily about 7,000.00 for a used car
Landslide
“we’ll pay you to do x” has proven to be a tactic for desperate businesses trying to get an edge. Is this the begining of the end for Microsoft?
Re: Landslide
Ive always thought it was the begining of the end for MS, but as usual, its not. When MS first came out with the Xbox, When MS first came out with video games. I have always thought that this somewhat of an expansion would be the end to them because they are taking bites of what they cannot chew, or at least chew 21 times so to speak. But it seems as if they are excelling what they thought their profits would be, when they were still in the planning stages.
Re: Landslide
Microsoft was never good with reputation, being pro consumer, and such. Little does Microsoft know that Google’s business model is based upon that. Theres a good reason we don’t get the money made by the advertising, its because they spend it making more stuff for us, paying for the servers we use when we search, and so on.
Google has done nothing but break the standards of the internet. They are the ones who made the high storage inboxes. Microsoft only followed after to compete. All the things google has done, microsoft has only attempted to compete by trying to match up with their new standards.
Microsoft is still making the same mistakes they’ve been making for years. They’re thinking about domination instead of making a good product and innovation.
Google Vs Gates
So what does that mean for us google users?
paid search
It’s a good idea.
I already use Blingo, same results as Google but you win cash prizes.
http://www.blingo.com/
microsoft sux
It’s kind of weird how low microsoft would go for a few more customers. Being the riches, can’t they think of another maketing idea than this? It should be ovious to microsoft by now that people use google.com more than msn.com because google.com provides more usefull tools and has a certain way that is easy. why dosen’t microsoft just think of somthing else?
I just dont care
I really dont care. Our opions dont really count anyways. Its not like bill is going to read this and say, ” you know there right”, same goes for google. Not to say I dont use google, I do. Till something better comes along. If it comes along?, could be awhile. One thing for sure, I’m not getting paid for any of it…..lol. And oh yeah, I hate walmart, just for the rocord. Its not the same store it used to be, when sam was alive. But I still shop there too, till something better comes along.
MS
Microsoft is a monoply and is subject to anti-trust laws. Leveraging your desktop to integrate technologies solely to kill off competitors IS in fact illegal and very well should be.
It’s easy to say, “ms worked hard and therefore are just reaping those rewards.” It’s not quite that simple. What about smaller companies that are attempting to break into the market? Microsoft will simply imitate it and put it for free in their OS. How will you retain your business then?
Anyways, back to this. I have little respect for Bill. Even with his PR charity donations. Bill’s quote it quite stupid as others have pointed out. Bill’s quote makes it seem as though Google has no respect for their users. Quite the opposite. I never felt this type of scheme were successful for either client nor business. But hey, do whatever you can do to kill the competitors right Bill?
MSN
I did switch to MSN and now I have some of my file options that were non-existent with google for some reason. Now I am very happy with my search engine MSN
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