Posted by kdownie @ 12:16pm GMT
Following an uncharacteristic period of quiet calm, Barry Diller's InterActiveCorp. (IAC) has announced plans to acquire Ask Jeeves, the "fifth place" holdover from the dot-com boom that refuses to die. Ask Jeeves has always tried to differentiate itself from the search giants with a user-friendly Q&A approach -- something that never really materialized into a large enough user base. But Ask Jeeves is without question a recognizable brand, and one that can probably generate a few advertising dollars for IAC, even though it will have to line up behind the big boys of search. Let's face it, Ask Jeeves isn't a priority for most Internet marketers, at least not yet. It will take a lot of brand repositioning, savvy (and expensive) marketing, and ad sales to justify the $1.85 billion price tag.
