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Ask Jeeves fine, but its name isn't
Barry Diller likes his new search engine, but wants a new moniker for it.
Associated Press
Published May 27, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO - IAC/InterActiveCorp chief executive Barry Diller likes his latest planned online acquisition.
He's just not that fond of its name.
Diller told an audience of media and executives that the more he learns about the search capabilities of Ask Jeeves Inc., which IAC is buying for $1.85-billion in stock, the more convinced he is that the firm can gain market share against search rivals Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN.
Ask Jeeves will get an infusion of cash for marketing and development, but its brand name is unlikely to survive.
"We're thinking about renaming it," Diller said during a question-and-answer session at the D3 - All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad. "It probably won't be called Ask Jeeves."
"What will it be called?" conference host and Wall Street Journal columnist Kara Swisher asked.
"Might be one of those words without the other," Diller answered.
When asked whether it mattered to him that IAC had to buy search technology, rather than using that of one of his existing properties, Diller was blunt.
"We invent nothing. We exploit. We recognize opportunity," he said.
[Last modified May 27, 2005, 00:39:13]
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