Whenever something big happens in the world of online advertising, I'm left scratching my head and wondering what it means for me.
It doesn't get much bigger than Microsoft offering tens of billions of dollars for Yahoo!.
So what does that mean for me... and for you too?
At the moment, nothing. Yahoo! has rejected Microsoft's bid and probably holding out for more money.
If the deal goes through, it won't happen overnight. Even then, it will take some time for the effects to be felt.
And even those effects are unlikely to be felt where they're most important: on sites like blogs and article pages.
That's because this is a battle between two companies in second and third place... and a long way behind in second and third place.
As much as I'd love to see any company give Google a run for its money, it doesn't look like either of them is going to be Yahoo! or Microsoft. They've both been pushing their own contextualized advertising systems for a while now and neither of them has made much of an impact on AdSense.
Google just has better matching technology, better prices and better ad inventory.
Microsoft buying Yahoo!'s system isn't going to make any difference to that.
But where a Microsoft/Yahoo! hybrid might make a difference is on content platforms beyond traditional websites.
At the moment, for example, Flickr -- which has millions of users and is owned by Yahoo!-- has very little advertising. It's hard to see a business as savvy as Microsoft ignore that opportunity for long.
I've already written about the importance of using complementary systems like Squidoo to bring users into your site and build your brand. If Microsoft were to add ads to Flickr -- and share the revenues -- you might be able to make money by showing off your pictures there too.
In short, unless you've got shares in Yahoo!, it's not worth getting too excited at the thought that Bill Gates wants to get deeper into search. But it's always worth keeping an eye on alternative content platforms... especially if you think they're going to get advertising too.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
