Blocking Google is not an option

AS WE SAID earlier the Microsoft Empire is not going to do a deal with the Mongolian Media Empire of Rupert Murdoch.

At the time we said it was all to do with the fact that the Vole didn't want to spend the dosh, but it's starting to look like Microsoft simply thinks it is a bad idea to block Google.

While the Financial Times has quoted outfits that have been approached by Microsoft about de-indexing from Google in return for cash, it is starting to look a bit flaky.

Satya Nadella, senior vice president of research and development for Microsoft's Online Services Division, was quoted at a conference as saying the Vole has no real intent focused on getting a lot content de-indexed from Google. The quote was not picked up by the mainstream press, but perhaps they didn't Google it well enough.

So why would we believe him? After all he is a Vole and still breathing. Well, for a start publishers that get themselves delisted from Google are committing suicide. Bing is not that big, nor will it be, even with Microsoft's best efforts.

To make it worth their while, the Vole will have to come up with wads of cash and this creates a bad situation for the software giant. The conventional media is losing money hand over fist and has not come up with a viable way of gaining revenue from New Media yet. This would mean that they would look to Microsoft for more and more money. Soon the Vole would be left propping up an industry that is going to the wall.

Meanwhile Microsoft seems perfectly content to chip away at Google's search dominance by adding new features to Bing and building partnerships like the one it forged with Yahoo. We expect it will continue to tell Murdoch to go forth and multiply. µ