VentureBeat >> Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer just said at the Web 2.0 conference here in San Francisco that
the software giant will acquire 20 companies a year for the next five years, ranging from $50 million to $1 billion.This steals from the playbook of News Corp, the media company that generated excitement among Internet companies after it acquired MySpace and others. There’s a tactic here: By declaring you are hungry, you get entrepreneurs coming to you to show you their wares — letting you get a glimpse of emerging technology even if you’re not going to buy it.
Google and to a lesser extent, Yahoo, have also acquired dozens of companies over the past few years, with Google much more acquisitive recently. Google has acquired at least 10 companies over the last year (there may be more than we’re unaware of), compared to Microsoft’s four. Yahoo has also acquired four. See list here. (more…)









The Structure of Information Networks
Found an article from