MoneyMoose

Facebook has become the biggest thing since sliced bread air MySpace Iraq MoneyMoose SOMETHING. It’s just big, okay? Really, really, really huge. That’s why some of the biggest companies around (Google and Microsoft, namely) want a slice of the Facebook pie.

“Facebook has sold a 1.6 percent stake to Microsoft for $240 million, spurning a competing offer from online search leader Google… The deal announced this afternoon after several weeks of negotiation values Facebook at $15 billion — less than four years after Mark Zuckerberg started the online social networking site in his Harvard University dorm room.”

Only four years? Wow. Thats about a $3.75 billion dollar increase per year.

“Microsoft also will sell Internet ads for Facebook as the site expands outside the United States, broadening an existing marketing relationship that began last year…Microsoft has been trying to become a bigger force in Internet advertising for several years, only to watch Google deepen its dominance of the space.”

Microsoft can’t honestly expect to beat Google in this. I mean. Come on. Google practically owns IS the Internet.

“In its fiscal year ending in June, Microsoft’s online ad revenue rose 21 percent to $1.84 billion. Over the same period, Google’s ad revenue totaled $13.3 billion.

With the Facebook investment, Microsoft dealt a rare setback to Google, which had previously trumped its bitter rival in earlier bidding battles involving AOL and Internet ad service DoubleClick.”

Could Microsoft be making a comeback? It’s sure to be a fight to the death. Or at least to the last ounce of bandwidth.

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