advertising play is to get Microsoft through the current Web bubble. It knows that Windows and Office licensing is going to dry up eventually and MS has to survive to the next big thing, and grab control of that.
What is the next big thing? According to my source, Microsoft thinks it is interconnected devices. As wireless networks get more prevalent, everything in your home will be connected to the network. Your car, your refrigerator, your television, your iPod (Zune?) -- everything. Microsoft has its fingers in a lot of pies, with an in-car computer services partnership with Ford; Windows Mobile, which could be installed on a huge variety of platforms; set-top boxes; and many more. This vision is straight out of Bill Gates's mid-90's book, The Road Ahead -- just 20 years late.
Will Microsoft be 25 percent advertising company in 3-4 years, like Steve Ballmer predicts? Possibly.
But will Microsoft be an advertising company forever? Don't hold your breath. There's way more money to be made in software.
More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:
- Prediction: Microsoft acquires AOL
- Analysis: An Open Letter to Steve Ballmer
- Report: Microsoft in talks for a deal with AOL
- Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s
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