Taking a close look at all technical options is the right thing for them (AOL and MSN) to be doing.

Then they show up at the door and the reality is that they are 5-foot-8, 240 pounds and have not run a mile in years. A background check is not going to help you with that.

The 800 pound gorilla just entered the blogosphere, with Google launching its blog search.

It's the same reason why someone has a Web page or why people feel comfortable going on reality TV.

In theory, it makes a lot of sense to combine the two operations, especially on the back end. But merging the two actual portal consumer experiences into a unified site will be a nightmare.

If the ad is bad people get turned off. That's 125 million potential viewers, so you just killed reach. But there's also a big potential payoff. I think it does pay off because you get a lot of traffic, a lot of free public relations(in media stories). It helps position themselves for the next round of financing.

We're all learning here; the best listeners will end up the smartest.