Now that I’m a distant outsider I can actually talk about my thoughts regarding this potential merger. First off – a disclaimer, I am a shareholder of Yahoo and Microsoft.

As you may know, Microsoft has been trying to acquire Yahoo for the last three months. The deal broke apart this past weekend when Microsoft offered up to $33 a share, and Yahoo wanted $37 a share. Yahoo traded at $28.67 on Friday and was originally at $19 a share when Microsoft first announced their original offer on January 31^st.

First off, as a shareholder, I would have loved the outcome to happen since I would have been personally benefited. But, taking the personal emotions out of it – here’s the business analysis for it and how it could affect you as a consumer. Microsoft needs Yahoo. As we all know, Microsoft has been a monopoly in the operating system and browser war. As of March 2008, Microsoft held a 91.57% market share in the OS War and 76% in the browser war.

Operating System Market Share

Browser Market Share

According to Comscore, in March 2008 – here’s a look at market share via the search engines.

Google has a 59.8% market share that continues to trend higher. Yahoo is at 21.3% and MSN is at 9.4%. If Yahoo decides to stay independent that means its only option will be to outsource search to Google. What does this mean? Google will have a total of 90.6% of the market share in search queries (when you add Google, Yahoo, Ask, and AOL). That would leave Microsoft in the dust with single depleting digits in the search market place.

What does this mean to the consumer? Probably won’t have a direct effect till later – since the direct effect will be faced to the advertisers that advertise on Google’s marketplace first. Yahoo believes that by outsourcing its search business it will gain as much as $1 billion in more profits annually since Google will be able to add more search queries to its market place and charge more for them.

It’s a classic supply and demand problem. Search is a very scarce marketplace – the more volume you put in it – and as the demand increases, the prices will go higher. So, how will this eventually affect the consumer? Well, the hundreds of thousands of advertisers that advertise on Google – to make a “ROI profit” – will be making less of a “profit.” And, they will eventually have to increase prices – which “YOU” the consumer will have to pay for. Not exactly, the best result especially in this economy.

Therefore, outside of personal reasons for the merger to have gone through – my business approach is that – I hate monopolies and would hate to create one so hard to break in the advertising world. Google would have too much power, and Microsoft was on the other side of the fence this time around, trying to stop this power – with the proposed transaction. It’s going to be a very interesting week for the three companies mentioned and what it means to their stock prices this week (Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo).

Hello Everyone. Welcome to my blog. This is actually my first blog post ever and I thought I make this one special. From my website you may already know my story, but I’m hoping this blog allows me to communicate directly with everyone. As you all know, I’ve had an incredible and fortunate journey in my life. Not a single day goes by – when I think about how grateful I am. Nevertheless, nothing came easy or was handed to me. It was all risk that turned into reward after some great ups and downs. Over the last 9 years – I’ve had an amazing career on the Internet. At 16 – I started my first Company, ClickAgents, and then one of the first things I did as an adult, at 18, was merge it with ValueClick for $40 million. At 21, I made one of the best decisions of my life, and that was to re-join this industry and start BlueLithium. And, as you may know, BlueLithium merged with Yahoo for $300 million last October. So what next you may ask? I learned one thing about myself while I was learning everything about the way the world works. I love to be challenged and I love to win.

After the merger with Yahoo – I stayed on an interim basis as CEO. In the beginning of 2008, my job was done. One thing I know about myself is that being idle is not something I can do. I figured out very early on – I’m not the type of guy that can simply go on a never-ending vacation or just sit on an island for the rest of my life sipping a margarita. I was ready for my next challenge.

I was introduced to the William Morris Agency and shortly thereafter signed up with them. As you may know – William Morris is one of the oldest talent agencies in the world and represents some of the greatest personalities in entertainment. I felt fortunate that I was in great Company. Things started to move fast. I had some great ideas on some TV shows that I was working with them on, as well as, a memoir that I wanted to write about my journey.

Within several weeks – I was presented an opportunity about a new show that a major network was producing. The more and more I learned about it – the more I fell in love with the underlying premise of the show. Several weeks later – I was casted and selected by the network to star in it. The filming took several weeks and was an incredible experience for me. You can definitely say it was very different than starting a Company. But, like I said – I am always up for a challenge, and this was definitely a memorable one. The show is slated to come out on a major network come this Fall – and as things come closer – I am hoping you all watch it and enjoy it as much I did being a part of it.

Meanwhile, after the filming, I met with several of the top book publishers. I was looking for the right publisher that understood the reason why I was writing this book and the message I wanted to get across. Far too many times – people hear my story and they ask…How? Why? And how can I? The short answer is – it’s not easy and there is no easy way. But, the long answer (you will find after reading the book) if I can do it – you can too! I believe everyone can find that same magic I was able to find in myself. After meeting with Palgrave Macmillan – I signed global rights to my book, “The Dream.” William Morris also helped me find my ghostwriter – Pablo Fenjves (NY Times bestselling author) to help create a very powerful book that I am hoping inspires people to find their magic. Pablo and I have been working on the book for several months now – and it’s been a privilege to work with such an incredible writer. We’re about 90% done – and will be turning over the manuscript next month (June) and are looking forward to releasing it during winter 2008.

So, now what, you may ask? Sell Company #2 – film a show, write a book, what could be next? Like I said – being idle is dangerous for a guy like me. So, I decided to go back into my roots. I love creating something out of nothing. The joy of it – is the best adrenaline rush you can get.

I started researching a couple of months ago – of what the market needed and what Company #3 could do. Obviously, I have a non-compete so I can’t start another ad network. But, what is something that I can use my skill set toward and have a great time creating? Then, it all clicked. And over the last 8 weeks, I’ve been in stealth mode launching gWallet (www.gWallet.com).

I realized how much the credit crisis was hurting America. In a recent report, almost 18% of American homes will either have zero or negative equity. Even the government is looking for a quick fix. President Bush’s recent economic stimulus package was the result of injecting cash back into America. But, the underlying problem still is going to exist. How can you maximize the value of that dollar? Hence, the ideas of gWallet were defined. And, I went to work.

You can say – I am back into full swing and loving it! The adrenaline rush is back – since this is what I love doing. Everything from picking out the name, to the logo, to creating the team is almost like solving the most intricate puzzle. Except – you’re stuck with it after your done building it. Therefore, you have to be careful every step of the way.

Today, VentureWire released an article that outlines how much progress we’ve made in just the last 8 weeks. We’re already well under way for raising $10 million for gWallet. I start my pathway again. I hope this time – it is just as exciting as it’s been the last two times, if not more. Wishing everyone continued success as my journey continues…