Bubble Blinders: The Untold Story of the Search Business Model
29 August 2010
An interesting tale on the evolution of the Search Business Model, interesting for whoever is in the technology space, ineresting, in fact for everybody living in this century.
The article, originally published on TechCrunch, is from Ali Partovi, an angel investor, startup advisor, and serial entrepreneur. He co-founded iLike, acquired by Myspace in 2009, and previously LinkExchange, acquired by Microsoft for $265mm in 1998. His portfolio has included such successes as Zappos, Tellme, Ironport, and Facebook. He was among the first to recognize the importance of the Facebook Platform, and, as this article suggests, also among the earliest to grasp the business opportunity of search.
Earlier this month, Paul Graham wrote a terrific article, “What Happened to Yahoo,” blaming Yahoo’s demise on two factors. First, “easy money” from banner ads led Yahoo to ignore search in the late ‘90s. Second, ambivalence about being a technology company meant Yahoo hired sub-par engineers and didn’t empower them to innovate. While I agree with Graham’s points, there’s a broader story to be told.
The story begins in 1996 with an 18-year-old college dropout named Scott Banister, who came up with a simple but elegant concept that turned out to be one of the best business ideas in history.
This is the true story of the search business model — a concept that John Battelle and other search historians have erroneously attributed to Bill Gross for Goto.com. Although Gross deserves the lion’s share of credit for recognizing a good idea and more importantly for implementing it, the credit for developing the idea itself belongs elsewhere. But first, let’s recall the world of search in the late ‘90s.
Being born under this sign determines many talents, as well as other characteristics that may not be so commendable. Rats are very lively and need a lot of mental and physical stimulation. They can be calm and perceptive, but sometimes their brains can cause a mental restlessness, tempting them to take on too much, only to discover they are unable to meet their commitments. Rats are blessed with one of the best intellects going. Add to their intelligence a curiosity and a bright imagination, and they seem as sharp as a needle.
Detailed Description
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