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EBay, Google, and the MySpace Dilemma



And we thought it was just about search, right? As TechDirt and others (free link from the WSJ) report, finalization of MySpace’s $900mm deal with Google is hitting a snag due to MySpace’s desire to work with EBay on commerce stuff.

Now, back when Google was just a search company that syndicated ads, this would not have been a problem. But we all know that AdSense is one half step removed from the classifieds/commerce business. And with Google’s recent push into PayPal’s domain with Checkout, I can only imagine that EBay views Google as a major threat. Sure, EBay buys more ads from Google than nearly anyone else, but now that Google is directly challenging EBay’s core business, things have changed.

One to watch.

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