Bartz Talks About MSFT Deal, Google & More At D7 Conference

If Microsoft brings “boatloads of money and the right technology,” Yahoo would be willing to strike a long-rumored search deal. So said Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz at the D7 Conference today, where All Things Digital’s Kara Swisher interviewed her on stage. Bartz followed up that statement by saying Microsoft would need “biiiig boatloads of money” […]

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If Microsoft brings “boatloads of money and the right technology,” Yahoo would be willing to strike a long-rumored search deal. So said Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz at the D7 Conference today, where All Things Digital’s Kara Swisher interviewed her on stage. Bartz followed up that statement by saying Microsoft would need “biiiig boatloads of money” if it wanted to buy Yahoo entirely.

That’s just one of the headlines coming out of Bartz’s appearance, but certainly not the only one. According to coverage from Barron’s, the Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, and All Things D here are other highlights:

  • Yahoo is interested in video advertising and social networking, and would consider acquisitions in those two areas.
  • Bartz said Google is “very good” in search and with its maps/Earth service, but Google doesn’t have the same reach & positioning that Yahoo has. “We are a place people come to be informed. Google is a place people go to do search.”
  • Bartz listed Yahoo’s three most important properties/focuses as its home page, search, and its mail/news/sports/finance sites.
  • She emphasized Yahoo’s deep content several times, at one point saying Facebook doesn’t give users news, stock quotes, and “a lot of things.”
  • Yahoo needs to make its user experience simpler and more customizable.
  • Bartz says Yahoo has 76% reach in the 18-24 year old demographic, and half the mobile users in the U.S.
  • Yahoo’s new home page should debut this fall.
  • Bartz wants Yahoo to get more local. On its new home page, users will be able to access highly local apps and information. She mentioned wanting to show high school football “Flip videos.”
  • The need for better organizational structure at Yahoo is one of the main things that led her to accept the CEO position. “Yahoo is on its way to being a lot simpler and therefore faster on its feet,” Bartz said.
  • Bartz doesn’t expect any more layoffs.

There’s more coverage of the Bartz interview on Techmeme.


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About the author

Matt McGee
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Matt McGee joined Third Door Media as a writer/reporter/editor in September 2008. He served as Editor-In-Chief from January 2013 until his departure in July 2017. He can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee.

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