Microsoft Corp president and veteran salesman Steve Ballmer admitted to a few more fits and starts than we wanted in the company’s internet strategy on the call to announce Rick Belluzo as the new group VP in charge of the consumer and commerce group.
Belluzo, a day into his job didn’t have a whole lot to say about how he and Microsoft intend to eliminate the fits and starts, but Ballmer did indicate that services like CarPoint and Expedia are not core to Microsoft because it is primarily a technology company, not a media company. Whether Redmond sells those properties or strikes up partnerships to have them run from outside isn’t clear yet. Ballmer also said that Microsoft will be doing fewer things and doing them better in the future, as far as its web properties are concerned.
Nevertheless, aware that the web is still in a land – or brand – grab stage, Ballmer said he was excited about the number of customers that have signed up to the various services that go under the MSN banner, including, of course Hotmail. Credit Suisse First Boston’s Microsoft watcher Michael Kwatinetz said in a research note Friday that Microsoft would be better served investing in horizontal web properties like Hotmail to drive traffic to the MSN site and selling or partnering on the vertical sites.
