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What If...: How Yahoo Almost Bought DoubleClick Before Google

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Re: What If...: How Yahoo Almost Bought DoubleClick Before Google

#2
It was 1995 and Kevin O’Connor was sitting in a basement in suburban Atlanta with Dwight Merriman trying to figure out how to build a business on this new thing called the internet.

“We thought maybe car sales would be big. We figured porn would be huge, but we didn’t want to get into that.” says Mr. O’Connor, who along with Dwight Merriman and Kevin Ryan, would go on to build the DoubleClick, Silicon Alley’s biggest exit and the engine behind Google’s profits. "Eventually we settled on ad sales."

What If these guys had decided to work on porn...

Re: What If...: How Yahoo Almost Bought DoubleClick Before Google

#3
post #2

It was 1995 and Kevin O’Connor was sitting in a basement in suburban Atlanta with Dwight Merriman trying to figure out how to build a business on this new thing called the internet. “We thought maybe car sales would be big. We figured porn would be huge, but we didn’t want to get into that.” says Mr. O’Connor, who along with Dwight Merriman and Kevin Ryan, would go on to build the DoubleClick, Silicon Alley’s biggest…

[deleted]

Re: What If...: How Yahoo Almost Bought DoubleClick Before Google

#4
So is doubleclick a company people look up to? I associate them with skeezy business practices, tracking people, privacy issues, and crappy advertising. I'm seriously trying to come up with one reason to like them.

Maybe it's that they're successful? But so is monsanto, and i don't look up to them.

Re: What If...: How Yahoo Almost Bought DoubleClick Before Google

#6
post #5

"and the engine behind Google’s profits" uh? how so?

Google's display ad exchange profits, powered by DoubleClick, have been growing.

Display ads is exactly where Yahoo wants to be strong, and is weak.

http://www.bigmouthmedia.com/live/articles/no-second-thought...

Re: What If...: How Yahoo Almost Bought DoubleClick Before Google

#8
It sure seems to be that whomever was in charge of M&A decisions/negotians at Yahoo was an utter failure. It appears that the common thread in the downfall of Yahoo is their inability to have successfully acquired some major assets that were either scooped up by google - or went on to become stellar successes.

I'd really like to know the internal dynamics that resulted in this. Although, if you heard that earnings call where Carol Bartz was totally called out - I can only imagine that the issues are intimately related to the arrogance of the exec staff.

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