Overture is Dead, Long Live Overture!.
Barry Parr, says, "Despite what OTHERS MAY THINK, the problem is that Overture's relationship with its customers is asymmetrical. Overture needs its customers a lot more than they need it. That's why Overture's margins are collapsing and why they've pulled this stunt."
Being "other people" (*), I disagree with Barry's assement. Had Yahoo! not bought Inktomi, than I would most certainly hold the same opinion. However, I don't think Microsoft (MSN) is happy that one of their major competitors now owns their search provider. Barry is right, traffic is important, not search: search is a commodity. That's Overture's advantage. Yahoo! threatens to steal traffic from the customers Inktomi powers; they are biting the hand that feeds them.
Algorithmic search is not valueless from a commercial perspective. Programs such as FAST PartnerSite don't affect the algorithmic part of searching, but they provide a benefit for both the customer, and the searcher. The more pervasive that Overture becomes, the more lucrative options like PartnerSite become.
(*) Beavis: weblogs are cool.. Heh! Heh! .. Heh! Heh!
[Sterling Hughes]
