[conspire] (forw) [Evals] Microsoft buys aQuantive (was: New blood)

[Rick Moen]

----- Forwarded message from Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> -----

Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 14:08:55 -0700
From: Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com>
To: evals at lists.merlins.org
Subject: [Evals] Microsoft buys aQuantive (was: New blood)

Back on April 19, I wrote:

> Quoting the most recent press release on the VA $WHATEVER Web site:
> 
>   VA Software Corporation (Nasdaq: LNUX), the online media, software, 
>   and e-commence leader in community-driven Open Source innovation, 
>   today announced that Scott E. Howe has joined the company's Board 
>   of Directors effective March 7, 2007. Howe brings more than eight
>   years of experience in the areas of internet media, technology, and
>   advertising.
>   [...]
>   Howe is President for DRIVE Performance Media, a division of
>   aQuantive, Inc. aQuantive is a global digital marketing company and the
>   parent company of interactive agencies, performance media and behavioral
>   targeting businesses, and providers of integrated digital marketing
>   technologies throughout the world. [...]
> [...] 
> In other words, one of the many firms quietly making money off
> "metrics", i.e., spying on the user, data-mining / data sales,
> consequent targeted advertising, etc., "integrated digital marketing
> technologies" being one of the standard corporate euphemisms for spying.

Apparently, Microsoft Corporation badly, badly wanted a ride on the same
bus, because they just acquired qQuantive for SIX GIGABUCKS (US $6 x 10^9).

US readers can be excused if they've become blase about huge dollar
figures after years of underwriting BushCo Federal budgets, but some
context may help:  Microsoft's _total equity_ is $34.9 x 10^9.  So, they
just sunk 1/6 of the full net value of their firm into this purchase.

(MSFT common stock took a $1 hit to $30.6, but is still near 7-year highs.)

Hmm, sudden, massive market diversification immediately following the
firm's annual Be Very Afraid Tour?[1]  Maybe a sign that those
unspecified patents are mostly crap, and that they fear increasing
danger to the monopoly gravy-train?

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-webads19may19,1,7538913.story?coll=la-headlines-business  (Note: _LA Times_ links go payment-only after about a week)
http://news.google.com/?ncl=1116466959&hl=en

[1] http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070517083516872

-- 
Cheers,                   "Of course, NIMBYism is perfectly fine for other
Rick Moen                 places, but we certainly shouldn't allow it in
rick at linuxmafia.com       _our_ town."   -- Rick M., going meta on his $SPOUSE

_______________________________________________
Evals mailing list
Evals at lists.merlins.org
http://lists.merlins.org/lists/listinfo/evals

----- End forwarded message -----