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Anyone have any insights into this? From the outside it looks like Mozilla is parting ways with Google because of Chrome. Interesting they went with Yahoo and n

by briholt 12y ago

Anyone have any insights into this? From the outside it looks like Mozilla is parting ways with Google because of Chrome. Interesting they went with Yahoo and not Bing.

dragonwriter 12y ago
> Anyone have any insights into this? From the outside it looks like Mozilla is parting ways with Google because of Chrome. Looks more like Mozilla is parting ways with Google because of money -- whether Yahoo! offering more than Google has in the past or Google offering less. (Though, looking at historical usage share measures, there's a good argument that if Google is offering less, its likely because Chrome eclipsing Firefox -- and by some measures IE -- has reduced the value of default search placement in Firefox.)
- gcp 12y ago
  if Google is offering less, its likely because Chrome eclipsing Firefox -- and by some measures IE -- has reduced the value of default search placement in Firefox Yahoo is looking at the same marketshare numbers, so that actually can't be the reason.
  - dragonwriter 12y ago
    > Yahoo is looking at the same marketshare numbers, so that actually can't be the reason. It certainly can be the reason that Google's offer isn't as strong -- the value of default search place in the third-place-with-continuing-declining-share browser is conceivably quite different to a party that owns what is, depending on which measure you look at, either the first- or second-place browser and a party that doesn't have any browser.
    - gcp 12y ago
      I don't see how that follows. Why would it? That x% of users represents X amount of users who click ads, which means y% of lost revenue. Why would the monetary value of that y% be so different to another search engine vendor? Either it's scaling effects (owning a few percent makes you more known, which drives new users) or Yahoo is better at selling ads through those users. Note that in the former case, there's even more incentive for Google to block. And if the second is true, oh boy, they certainly have a problem at G...
      - mousa 12y ago
        It's not that interesting. Yahoo is under a lot of pressure to grow and just got a windfall of cash from the Alibaba IPO. This is an easy place for them to grow their revenue.
  - mousa 12y ago
    Yahoo has a ton of cash it didn't have until recently and a CEO who wants growth and is willing to overspend.
ngokevin 12y ago
Mozilla is parting ways with Google because it is in line with their values, to promote choice and show that the web is for everyone. Although it may seem so from the outside, the whole Firefox vs. Chrome rivalry is blown out of proportion. Many people at Mozilla are happy that there is choice in what browser you can use, instead of the IE monopoly there used to be.
blumkvist 12y ago
What's interesting about it? Microsoft killed the company which mozilla originated from. And they were created for the sole purpose not to let Microsoft has a monopoly on the gateway to the Internet...
- ExpiredLink 12y ago
  > they were created for the sole purpose not to let Microsoft has a monopoly on the gateway to the Internet... Created by Google. People often forget (or don't know) that Microsoft's IE once almost had a browser monopoly. Many online applications accepted only IE as browser. Surprisingly, Microsoft did not fight hard to keep the monopoly and even dissolved their team of IE developers. Google and 'their' Firefox took the opportunity. I never understood why Google created their own browser instead of tightening their already strong relationship to Mozilla. Contrary to most opinions here, I think that Mozilla's decision is more likely the beginning of the end than a promising "strategic partnership".
  - Yoric 12y ago
    > I never understood why Google created their own browser instead of tightening their already strong relationship to Mozilla. Most likely because they couldn't own Mozilla. Just as Apple created Safari instead of promoting either Firefox or Camino, because they couldn't own Mozilla. Both cases are companies that attempt to own the entire silo. > Contrary to most opinions here, I think that Mozilla's decision is more likely the beginning of the end than a promising "strategic partnership". We shall see. However, I believe that the previous situation was unhealthy: Mozilla was funded mostly by a competitor with a clear and present interest in making Firefox irrelevant.
blumkvist 12y ago
What's interesting about it? Microsoft killed the company which mozilla originated from. \
jfoster 12y ago
I don't have any internal knowledge, but I would like to point out that it can be more than one thing. There's Chrome, in competition with Firefox, Mozilla's core business. There's also Google increasingly looking like a search monopoly, whereas Mozilla's mission is to "promote choice and innovation on the Internet." There's also the fact that Google are now feeling so secure about their grip on search that they were looking to reduce the amount they were paying to Mozilla in their partnership. Individually, perhaps none of the reasons was quite enough for Mozilla to ditch their partnership with Google, but combined, it makes a whole lot of sense.

by briholt 12y ago

Anyone have any insights into this? From the outside it looks like Mozilla is parting ways with Google because of Chrome. Interesting they went with Yahoo and not Bing.

dragonwriter 12y ago

> Anyone have any insights into this? From the outside it looks like Mozilla is parting ways with Google because of Chrome. Looks more like Mozilla is parting ways with Google because of money -- whether Yahoo! offering more than Google has in the past or Google offering less. (Though, looking at historical usage share measures, there's a good argument that if Google is offering less, its likely because Chrome eclipsing Firefox -- and by some measures IE -- has reduced the value of default search placement in Firefox.)

gcp 12y ago
if Google is offering less, its likely because Chrome eclipsing Firefox -- and by some measures IE -- has reduced the value of default search placement in Firefox Yahoo is looking at the same marketshare numbers, so that actually can't be the reason.
- dragonwriter 12y ago
  > Yahoo is looking at the same marketshare numbers, so that actually can't be the reason. It certainly can be the reason that Google's offer isn't as strong -- the value of default search place in the third-place-with-continuing-declining-share browser is conceivably quite different to a party that owns what is, depending on which measure you look at, either the first- or second-place browser and a party that doesn't have any browser.
  - gcp 12y ago
    I don't see how that follows. Why would it? That x% of users represents X amount of users who click ads, which means y% of lost revenue. Why would the monetary value of that y% be so different to another search engine vendor? Either it's scaling effects (owning a few percent makes you more known, which drives new users) or Yahoo is better at selling ads through those users. Note that in the former case, there's even more incentive for Google to block. And if the second is true, oh boy, they certainly have a problem at G...
    - mousa 12y ago
      It's not that interesting. Yahoo is under a lot of pressure to grow and just got a windfall of cash from the Alibaba IPO. This is an easy place for them to grow their revenue.
- mousa 12y ago
  Yahoo has a ton of cash it didn't have until recently and a CEO who wants growth and is willing to overspend.

ngokevin 12y ago

Mozilla is parting ways with Google because it is in line with their values, to promote choice and show that the web is for everyone. Although it may seem so from the outside, the whole Firefox vs. Chrome rivalry is blown out of proportion. Many people at Mozilla are happy that there is choice in what browser you can use, instead of the IE monopoly there used to be.

blumkvist 12y ago

What's interesting about it? Microsoft killed the company which mozilla originated from. And they were created for the sole purpose not to let Microsoft has a monopoly on the gateway to the Internet...

ExpiredLink 12y ago
> they were created for the sole purpose not to let Microsoft has a monopoly on the gateway to the Internet... Created by Google. People often forget (or don't know) that Microsoft's IE once almost had a browser monopoly. Many online applications accepted only IE as browser. Surprisingly, Microsoft did not fight hard to keep the monopoly and even dissolved their team of IE developers. Google and 'their' Firefox took the opportunity. I never understood why Google created their own browser instead of tightening their already strong relationship to Mozilla. Contrary to most opinions here, I think that Mozilla's decision is more likely the beginning of the end than a promising "strategic partnership".
- Yoric 12y ago
  > I never understood why Google created their own browser instead of tightening their already strong relationship to Mozilla. Most likely because they couldn't own Mozilla. Just as Apple created Safari instead of promoting either Firefox or Camino, because they couldn't own Mozilla. Both cases are companies that attempt to own the entire silo. > Contrary to most opinions here, I think that Mozilla's decision is more likely the beginning of the end than a promising "strategic partnership". We shall see. However, I believe that the previous situation was unhealthy: Mozilla was funded mostly by a competitor with a clear and present interest in making Firefox irrelevant.

blumkvist 12y ago

What's interesting about it? Microsoft killed the company which mozilla originated from. \

jfoster 12y ago

I don't have any internal knowledge, but I would like to point out that it can be more than one thing. There's Chrome, in competition with Firefox, Mozilla's core business. There's also Google increasingly looking like a search monopoly, whereas Mozilla's mission is to "promote choice and innovation on the Internet." There's also the fact that Google are now feeling so secure about their grip on search that they were looking to reduce the amount they were paying to Mozilla in their partnership. Individually, perhaps none of the reasons was quite enough for Mozilla to ditch their partnership with Google, but combined, it makes a whole lot of sense.