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Showing posts from August, 2013

Letter to Steve Ballmer

Mr. Ballmer: As a long-time shareholder, I’ve sent a few letters to you in the past.   I sent one just a few months ago, which was intercepted by your haughty IR department which penned a self-congratulatory response.   This time I’ve chosen to post on Blogger (interesting that Microsoft doesn’t have anything like that, isn’t it?). Last night I was reading Miguel Helft’s quite good article on YouTube in the August 12 th issue of Fortune.   As I read it, I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if Microsoft, instead of Google,   had acquired YouTube.   Sadly, my conclusion is that YouTube have faded away, after becoming another goodwill impairment charge for Microsoft and perhaps then limping along like Digg. Instead it’s becoming a juggernaut under Google’s ownership. Why is it that other entities have found a way to grow and expand over the last decade, while Microsoft has settled for a GDP growth rate?   Has Microsoft become sclerotic?   Does it have warring