Oh no you don't
I'll say it. Microsoft's bid to buy Yahoo stinks. I know that Yahoo is a corporation, and that a corporation is ultimately responsible to its shareholders, who probably welcome Microsoft's $20+ per share markup on their stock. However, I can't see how this will benefit the online world.
Microsoft is notoriously bad when it comes to the web. When is the the last time you've ever heard anyone say, "I don't know but I bet I can find it on Microsoft Live Search?" Or, "You can see my photos on Windows Live Spaces?" (sorry, Ben). You don't. While Google was able to build the defining search engine of our time, and while Yahoo is smart enough to buy things and keep them intact, Microsoft has been nothing short of a train wreck when it comes to doing anything interesting on the web.
I admit that besides Yahoo Groups, Flickr, Upcoming, del.icio.us, and the YUI tools, I don't make much use of Yahoo anymore. Actually that's quite a few things. So I naturally fear the intrusion of Microsoft and their heavy-handed way of doing things. It's sad that in their fruitless quest for the top, Microsoft feels that they need to consume one of, if not the, true progenitors of today's web.
Comments
While my blog is on spaces, I would probably move it if I ever got serious about blogging again; and I obviously use flickr for all my online picture needs; I don't really agree that Microsoft is "bad at the web". First of all, virtual earth rocks. They rocketed ahead of Google maps within a couple months of its release and it has consistently been my online mapping site of choice. The whole Live push was actually pretty interesting, and arguably more innovative and forward looking than anything Yahoo was doing outside of buying up all the good sites and then not really integrating them. It's not that I wanted big changes to Flickr, for instance, but they basically did nothing to make the experience better either. On the other hand, Microsoft bought hotmail a long time ago, and they are the whole reason I still use hotmail for my personal account. They integrated it with Outlook and windows mobile, which makes my mobile life a whole lot easier. If MS wants to buy yahoo and integrate delicious and flickr right into Live and all my mobile devices, I say more power to them. It might end up even making Live spaces worth using.