John C. Dvorak

For once I actually agree with Internet pundit John C. Dvorak.  Today he blasted Microsoft for their position against Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick.  Dvorak calls out the precarious position Microsoft takes in claiming the purchase of DoubleClick will allow Google to corner the online advertising business.

The acquisition case is currently being heard before Senate Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights, where Microsoft and other companies are complaining to antitrust regulators.  Microsoft claims it would an anti-competitive business practice for Google to buy its largest competitor.  And yet Microsoft is keenly interested in dominating this space as well, having recently finalized its acquisition of aQuantive for $6 billion, one of DoubleClick’s largest competitors.  This seems to be a shaky foothold for Microsoft to take–why is it that they can purchase a competitor (Microsoft has its own ad-serving business) to help them gain dominance in the market but Google can’t?

And Microsoft itself has claimed that we’re only just seeing the beginnings of what can be done in online advertising, so it still seems too early to say one company is dominating and it’s impossible for any other company to enter the space.  Online advertising is constantly evolving and new forms of media and ways of presenting the ads are always emerging.  Furthermore, online advertising is only in its infancy in a number of segments such as mobile and digital TV, so a vast portion of the potential market has yet to even be explored.

While I agree with Dvorak that Microsoft is taking a dubious position, I think he’s incorrect in assuming that Microsoft could just write code into their browser or OS to block Google and competitors.  They’ve come under fire for activity like that in the past, such as when they were locking down source code for Windows Vista that would hinder the development of 3rd party anti-virus software.  So I think that it’s best that they stay away from that avenue and instead rely on their seemingly endless legal assets instead.  Then again, that hasn’t been too helpful lately either…


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