TechFold - Bold tech & web commentary

Facebook Acquisition - Round X; I bet Google

I call Google FTW. The internets are all atwitter that facebook is on the block again - the Guardian says Yahoo is at it again; Battelle speculates that GOOG might snipe it like they did with DoubleClick.

Personally, I’ve thought Google is the more likely candidate for a while. Despite their occaisonal dropped balls on acquisitions (dodgeball), Google is about two things: platform and volume, which feed off each other and together are monetizeable. Advertising? Google built the platform. Search? Same. Video? Yup. Any area of online tech that you look into, Google has a major foundational play under way - if not a platform in a traditional sense, then a product option that has so much market power that it is the defacto platform or standard in its space.

Except social networking. Orkut, however you slice it, is an abject failure. Facebook would fill that gap, and the Facebook platform philosophy works nicely with Google. Google and Facebook could exchange hooks, interfaces, and API’s very quickly and create integrated products that deliver real value FAST.

Final note - I remember comments from GOOG’s CEO from a few weeks ago to the effect that Google wants to be able to tell you what you should be doing for the weekend. THAT’S A SOCIAL FEATURE.

So - when all is said and done, I call Google for the buy, Yahoo for the runner up. The only thing to derail this would be the SEC.

billions, dodgeball, facebook, GOOG, google, microsoft, orkut, sec, social, socialnetworking, weekend, yahoo YHOO

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A quick Apple Scandal Update

Yeah, I got taken by Valleywag when Nick wrote this post - “Get out of Apple stock right now.” Starting with the breathless disclaimer that he had sold all of his Apple stock before writing the post, Nick went on to peg Apple as about to be beheaded by regulators.

Anyway, things turned out differently. I wonder if Nick regrets that stock sale now?

GigaOM wraps it all concisely, summarizing the fact that Steve Jobs seems to have dodged Anderson’s bullet by having a really good quarter. The NYT suggests that Anderson has a grudge to settle - time will tell if Jobs gets dinged with an SEC fine, but whatever the case, it looks like the market has moved on.

Edit: Couldn’t resist:

From: the I-can-has-cheeseburger blog

apple, sec, stevejobs, stocks valleywag

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