Month: September 2011

Microsoft catching up with Google

Way too often do I hear from the Microsoft fans that the company is catching up with Google.  Each and every time I disagreed, but in the heat of the discussion it’s not always easy to find supporting facts.  Yeah, I know, I should come ready for such arguments, but I really take them when and where they find me.

Anyways, Google Android and Microsoft Mobile is only one side of a discussion.  Advertising is the other.  And search is yet another one.  Well, I’ve heard the numbers before, but never bothered blogging them.  This time I will.  Slashdot links to a CNN Money article, which tells a really sad story.

Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) has lost $5.5 billion on Bing since the search service launched in June 2009, but the company’s search losses actually pre-date that. In fact, the software giant has never made money in its online services division. Since Microsoft began breaking out that unit’s finances in 2007, the company has lost a total of $9 billion.

There is even a little visual aid in case you prefer your trends simplified.  It doesn’t look good, and it will never will.  And the secret is very simple.  Microsoft is not an online company.  It never was and it is too large to change.  If it will ever change, it will be as different from what it is now as IBM is different from the company it used to be in the last century.

 

Day in brief – 2011-09-20

  • Good morning ladies and gentlemen. And I am back from the Hangoverland. Feels good to be alive. :) #
  • @mattcutts I had it with a girl once. :) #
  • @jasonclarke Happened to me once. This is a good sign that a diet and some exercise are in order. Once you recover, of course. #
  • I favorited a @YouTube video http://t.co/mRrfFSpM Sad But Superstitious (Stevie Wonder vs Metallica Mashup by #

Automattic Creed

I’ve mentioned several times why I think Automattic is an awesome company to work for (no, I don’t work for them, yet).  Here is another example.  This is a bit that goes on the offer letter that new potential employees get.  This is what the company stands for.

I will never stop learning. I won’t just work on things that are assigned to me. I know there’s no such thing as a status quo. I will build our business sustainably through passionate and loyal customers. I will never pass up an opportunity to help out a colleague, and I’ll remember the days before I knew everything. I am more motivated by impact than money, and I know that Open Source is one of the most powerful ideas of our generation. I will communicate as much as possible, because it’s the oxygen of a distributed company. I am in a marathon, not a sprint, and no matter how far away the goal is, the only way to get there is by putting one foot in front of another every day. Given time, there is no problem that’s insurmountable.

Read the rest of the story as told by Matt.