Why IAC Needs MSN: Barry Diller, meet Bill Gates

Why would InterActive Corporation be a natural partner with MSN?
It's no secret that IAC had tried to partner with Google several years ago in order to control a major source of traffic. Barry Diller essentially wanted a deal similar to what AOL recently negotiated. The deal never happened.

The anxiety felt by IAC goes beyond traffic. Yahoo is a portal that competes on the same playgrounds as IAC: Travel, Dating, etc. IAC faced the reality every webmaster does, and that's the fiscal dependence upon a third party for traffic and revenue. Any business predicated on something as uncontrollable as an algo is as good as well... the next update. Uncertainty is not good.

So IAC purchased ASK in order to feed the different parts that form IAC. But ASK controls a tiny market share. AJ's market share is variously stated as between 2.6% to 7% (when counting Iwon.com, MyWay.com etc.). ASK clearly does not provide the traffic stability that an alliance with Google can deliver. So the quest for stability remains.

Enter the Dragon... from Redmond
IAC controls some of the webs most recognizable brands, including Match.com, Hotwire, Hotels.com, CitySearch, Evite, LendingTree, Ticketmaster, etc. But they are dependent on traffic. A partnership with MSN would deliver eyeballs in a mutually beneficial relationship. An IAC/MSN alliance makes sense because it MSN from becoming a Yahoo-like competitor down the road while feeding off of MSN's traffic. MSN receives ad dollars/commission.

Here's the Part that is Speculative but Plausible
How much sense would it make for Ask Jeeves to dump AdWords revenue and switch over to MSN AdCenter? What are the benefits?

The Matches that Light Fires Under Websites

Mad geniuses and people who don't know what they're doing but doing it well have been on my mind lately. Odd Todd and Flying Spaghetti Monster are good examples of mad geniuses and hyper successful amateurs. Talk about successful websites created by people who weren't even trying, Matt Cutts received a PR 7 on his first time out (ha!)!

Somebody explain this to me
What reminded me about this was a "shopping mall" affiliate website I stumbled on that is aimed at menopausal women. My first reaction was WTF. It's motto is, "Where you can still shop after you drop" and features a graphic of a stick lady in flames. This is the phrase dominating the space above the fold:

So you can't take Hormone Replacement Therapy
BUT YOU CAN STILL

SHOP

I IM'd w**** about it and his reaction was the same, he couldn't tell if it was created by a mad genius or someone who didn't have a clue.

W**** remarked, "I wished I had two hundred of these websites!"

That's exactly what I was thinking. This website had no keyword spamming, and no backlinks as far as I can tell. I would never in a hundred years have thought to put together a website like it. But I like it!

Bad is good?
This website reminded me of the plot from the movie (and Broadway smash) named The Producers. In that movie, two producers conspire to enrich themselves by promising fifty percent shares in a Broadway production to dozens of wealthy old ladies. The key is to produce a show so bad it would close before the first act was finished. So they obtained the worst and most offensive book they could find, hired the worst director and cast in order to ensure the show would close and they would keep the investor money. The name of their show was, Springtime for Hitler and Germany. To their horror the show is a smashing success!

The show's theme song features lyrics like this:

"Springtime for Hitler and Germany

Deutschland is happy and gay

We're marching to a faster pace

Look out, here comes the master race"

With lyrics like that, the show has got to bomb, right? Ha!

I'll take two hundred of those... hold the olives
So does that mean awfully bad is the wave of the future? No, I'm not saying that. I'm just intrigued by those who don't know what they're doing and stumble upon financial success.

I'm thinking of the matches that light fires under websites... and seconding the sentiment that it would be nice to have two hundred sites that looked like themenopausemall.com. It's the cool site of the month, hehe.