Google-Yahoo Deal: A Lesson For Entrepreneurs - Watch What You Say

I was researching for a blog post about YouTube and professional video vs. user-generated video but I couldn't find the specific quote I was looking for: One where Sergey Brin (I am sure it was him and not Larry Page) said that he did not like pay-per-clicks ads beside search results.

It was meant to prove that Google moving to finally adopting pre-roll and post-roll advertising on YouTube was no surprise - they do change their minds (or flip-flop as it is no fashionable to say).

I came across an interesting article on c|net from 2002 when Google signed a deal with Earthlink, ousting Overture. At that time, Tim Cadogan, Overture's vice president of search, had this to say:

"We're a leader in paid search, and Google's a great leader in algorithmic search. That distinction will continue."

Of course, Google went on to blow Overture out the water and Overture was eventually acquired by Yahoo! and renamed Yahoo! Search Marketing.

If this deal goes through, it certainly would be ironic (and not the first time that Yahoo and Google work together).

Note to self: Never downplay the challenge from a potential competitor, it could very well backfire.

I hope other entrepreneurs and business people heed the warning as well.