There is much buzz concerning Microsoft's intentions when it announced that IE10 would default to a Do Not Track option for advertising. What that would do to its ad business (and that of advertiser's ability to target ads) is a concern for many marketers.
Who benefits from such a move?
It appears that Microsoft, if it indeed is exiting the ad business, as might also be reflected in its shrinking business staff, is looking to ultimately move users away from Google Chrome, and its tracking default, to a "friendlier" Do Not Track platform.
But let's look under the covers.
What would Microsoft do with its ad business? The recent announcement by Yahoo's Marissa Mayer to rethink the use of cash from its Alibaba deal (about $7 Billion) leads me to assume a bigger deal is at hand.
Reverse engineering the merger between Yahoo and Bing, Yahoo could use the cash to buy out the Microsoft ad business, bolstering display and, more importantly Search. Given Marissa's oversight of Search while at Google, it's not a far fetched scenario.
What do you think?
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