Don’t Slow Down Yahoo-Microsoft Deal: Dear DOJ

Deal will create competition, not destroy it.

Dear Department of Justice:

Following a long courtship, Yahoo and Microsoft have agreed to a long term search and advertising deal. The deal is going to end up in your lap early next year, and a number of lobbyists will be screaming that the deal is anti-competitive. Don’t buy it.

This deal creates a competitor. It takes two also-rans in the search business and turns them into a true (although still relatively weak) competitor to Google.

As a modest web site publisher, I’m convinced that having at least two viable advertising providers in the search space is critical to keep each one in check. Right now we have a growing ad provider in Google and a faltering one in Yahoo. Everyone else is a tackling dummy. By Yahoo and Microsoft joining forces, their scale will be enough to entice more advertisers to pay attention. This, in turn, will benefit web entrepreneurs.

I realize you need to look like you have a heavy hand. But this isn’t a case to worry regarding or slow down. Don’t listen to the Google-funded army; do what’s right for millions of advertisers and web site publishers. Give this deal the green light.