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Ask Jeeves and IAC/InterActiveCorp To Merge By Jason Lopez March 21, 2005 5:53PM     "This is going to have an impact on the emerging desktop search market," Tim Hickernell of Meta Group told NewsFactor. Google's desktop search technology is being adopted by many tech-oriented users. IAC's Web sites are geared toward the much larger non-tech audience -- those who might be called "plain old consumers."   Related Topics IAC/InterActiveCorp will buy Ask Jeeves for $1.8 billion in stoc Latest News Plasma-TV Ban Could Be Costly Barnes & Noble Nook Is Delayed Flat PC Shipments Hurt Dell's Stock Ballmer Says Windows 7 Sales Good New Pogoplug 'Cloud' Gets Social Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp will buy Ask Jeeves for US$1.8 billion in stock. The move promises to be a big boost for the search engine company, which has been trying to get out of the shadow of its three main competitors Google, Yahoo and MSN. Ever since Ask Jeeves revamped its search engine three years ago by purchasing and deploying Teoma search technology, many industry experts have considered it a serious contender. But the Internet company, which says its property is the 9th largest on the web with 42 million unique visitors each month, may have run into a wall in its efforts to gain on Google. A merger with IAC/InterActiveCorp puts Ask Jeeves in a position to monetize its search business through Diller's vast sales channels, which include Ticketmaster, Home Shopping Network, and Lending Tree. Scrappy Innovators Ask Jeeves has been savvy. It was ahead of the competition in introducing desktop search tools and has articulated a clearer business model around blogging than the big three. "We certainly have been smaller than [Google, Yahoo and MSN], but we've been scrappy and innovative in growing our search share, and doubling it to about 7 percent," said Scott Garell, executive vice president of Ask Jeeves' Web properties. But a more direct route to getting cash flow from search may lie within the sales channels of products themselves. Think Amazon.com's A9 search engine. Google, Yahoo and MSN are moving into this area. With today's announcement, Ask Jeeves appears to have catapulted into it. "If you combine our progress with the resources of IAC we have a huge opportunity to build the brand," Garell told NewsFactor. Ask Jeeves benefits by becoming co-branded with IAC Web properties, and vice versa. Power Couple The move by IAC could represent a major step in the evolution of search engines. Simple search, from a start page, is one thing. Contextual search, especially from the desktop, promises to deliver more focused information to consumers and could bring in more revenue. "This is going to have an impact on the emerging desktop search market," Tim Hickernell of Meta Group told NewsFactor. "They're hitting a target market that is different than what Google hits," he pointed out. Google's desktop search technology is being adopted by many tech-oriented users. IAC's Web sites are geared toward the much larger non-tech audience -- those who might be called "plain old consumers." IAC businesses, like the Home Shopping Network, and Ask Jeeves could make a powerful combination.   Advertisement  Tech Trends 1.   New Pogoplug 'Cloud' Gets Social 2.   Salesforce Makes Business Social 3.   Cisco, Logitech Target Mainstream 4.   Could This Be the Season for Web TV? 5.   AMD Powers Top Cray Supercomputer Frugal Twitter-Only Device Offered TwitterPeek doesn't need a data plan. Average Rating: Social-Networking Security a Concern Facebook hijacking shows dangers. Average Rating: Cisco, EMC Team on Private Clouds Partner for new data-center approach. Average Rating:

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Network Security Spotlight

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Enterprise Hardware Spotlight

Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings Dell's earnings are up and expectations are solid, but the company's stock still took a hit after analysts signaled the company isn't playing a key role in the PC market recovery.   New Pogoplug 'Personal Cloud' Does Social Networking Cloud Engines has released its newest version of the Pogoplug, a small "multimedia sharing device" that connects hard drives to the Internet and allows a user to access the files remotely.   Apple Tablet Rumored Delayed as Publisher Gears Up There have been so many rumors of an Apple tablet that it has taken on legendary status. But now the legend is being revised with reports of a delay and that a major publisher is getting ready.

Enterprise Technology Spotlight

Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings Dell's earnings are up and expectations are solid, but the company's stock still took a hit after analysts signaled the company isn't playing a key role in the PC market recovery.   Smartphones: A Bigger Target for Security Threats Smartphones are increasingly prevalent and adept at handling more tasks, including trading stocks, paying bills, and buying stuff online. That makes them attractive to thieves and hackers.   FBI Says Hackers Targeting Law Firms, PR Companies Hackers are targeting law firms and public relations companies with a sophisticated e-mail scheme that breaks into their computer networks to steal sensitive data, often linked to large corporate clients.

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