All Things Digital

As most know by now, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer introduced the software giant’s relaunch of its search offering, dubbed Bing, onstage at the seventh D: All Things Digital conference.

You can see that here, as well as Ballmer demoing the product, which is Microsoft’s biggest and priciest attempt yet to catch archrival Google and Yahoo in the search business.

It is a market where the typically dominant Microsoft is a mouse in comparison. But, no surprise, that did not stop Ballmer from doing some roaring about Bing.

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Let’s be honest–even with the sassy stylings of CEO Carol Bartz, who will be appearing at her first Yahoo annual meeting this morning–there are few of these affairs that are even remotely exciting.

Last year’s Yahoo meeting did have a frisson of possibility, since billionaire investor Carl Icahn and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer were fixing to put the double squeeze on the board and, especially, its then-CEO and co-founder Jerry Yang. Also, major Yahoo shareholders threatened a revolt.

But, none of that panned out. Thus, this year is likely to be a snoozer in comparison.

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There is no doubt that Microsoft is pulling out the stops with its launch of its renovated search service, now called Bing, with $100 million in marketing dollars.

But, besides lifting the software giant’s share of the search market in early surveys, has it also given Microsoft’s stock an added boost?

Yes, indeed, but only just over the last 30 days.

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BoomTown once asked Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer if the software giant was ever going to be able to catch No. 1 Google in market share in the increasingly lucrative search arena–despite years of trying and billions in investment in its Web businesses overall.

“We don’t actually have to catch the leader,” answered the pugnacious tech leader. “We just have to surpass the No. 2 to have a great business.”

No. 2 is Yahoo. And now, with a recently revamped search offering called Bing showing some promising signs, Ballmer shot another one across its bow by telling an audience yesterday that he was ready to spend billions more to win the race.

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In exactly one week at 10 am PDT, Yahoo will hold its annual meeting in Silicon Valley, the first time when new CEO Carol Bartz will greet its shareholders in person.

She should prep carefully, as the event has been quite a drama over the last two years.

Here’s a rundown of what is likely to be on the minds of investors, including the status of the isn’t-it-rich-aren’t-they-a-pair relationship between Yahoo and Microsoft.

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Well, what else is Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz going to do, but talk smack?

Not at BoomTown–that was so two weeks ago!

About potential partner Microsoft, of course!

And, especially about its new Bing search engine.

And, most especially of all, since new stats from comScore yesterday showed that the new look and marketing push for Bing are showing promising initial signs.

Rut-roh!

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Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal did a special Technology Report section, made up of excerpts of selected interviews from the seventh D: All Things Digital conference, including Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer ringing in Bing and Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz looking for the primo opportunity to curse at BoomTown.

Here are the online links to the transcripts, as well as video highlights.

We’ll be posting the full video of all the sessions on this site soon.

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If a search and advertising partnership between Yahoo and Microsoft is ever struck, perhaps a little CEO-to-CEO note-passing should get some credit.

Yesterday, we wrote about the purple Post-It that Bartz passed to Ballmer via the makeup person in the D: All Things Digital Green Room.

Here’s the photographic proof!

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Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had yet another one-on-one meeting yesterday evening at the D: All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, Calif., said several sources, in ongoing discussions about a search and advertising partnership.

In addition, top deal execs from both Yahoo and Microsoft continued their talks, including Yahoo U.S. head Hilary Schneider and top Microsoft digital exec Yusuf Mehdi.

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BoomTown will be driving the minivan–packed with my assistant Ed, my mom, two mannequins (don’t ask), a coffee machine and lots of coffee and some very nice outfits–down to the seventh D: All Things Digital conference today, so don’t expect much in the way of posts from me.

Thus, I hope Twitter doesn’t sell to [fill in the blank], Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer don’t agree to agree (until they are on the D stage next week) and Facebook’s valuation doesn’t ricochet up and down the blog-hyped scale once again.

But the rest of the well-oiled All Things Digital machine will be in full force covering tech and media news, even as we gear up for the big event next week, which will feature pretty much all the major players in the digital space.

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Later this afternoon, BoomTown will be front and center–well, I will probably get seated on the far side and way back–for a speech to be delivered by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at Stanford University’s Memorial Auditorium on innovation and entrepreneurship, aimed at students there who are looking for some advice from tech’s big dogs.

Ballmer is, of course, all that, with a blustery bark and an occasional bite.

Of course, he’s probably channeling a more charming demeanor in another meeting sources say he plans to have with Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz on this visit to Silicon Valley.

The second since Bartz took over Yahoo in January, it’s about whether or not the pair should make nice after a long period of useless acrimony, and strike a significant search and advertising partnership.

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Recently, BoomTown reported that talks between Microsoft and Yahoo had gotten “hot and heavy.”

That mood seems to be continuing, as many sources close to the situation on both sides said that the pair are coming ever closer to a search and advertising partnership deal.

“It’s meaningful,” said one source. “The fact that there is even progress and engagement, after so many failed attempts between us, says a lot.”

Indeed, there seems to be a lot of engagement between the two sides of late, and some sources think a deal could even be struck within the next few weeks.

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Incredibly, this is the seventh year of the D: All Things Digital conference.

We feel very lucky to get here, especially in the midst of what our own site’s Digital Daily scribe, John Paczkowski, has so perfectly dubbed the “econalypse.”

Ironically, Walt Mossberg and I planned to launch the very first conference in the middle of the last major downturn for tech, in 2001. But, in the carnage of the Web 1.0 meltdown, we actually held off for two years, with our first D gathering taking place in 2003.

Well, we’re still going–making the same long-term bet that the digital revolution will keep rolling as we did at D1. Here’s our lineup for D7.

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Microsoft and Yahoo have been busily ferreting away on talks about search and advertising partnership possibilities in what one person close to the situation described as “hot and heavy.”

Exactly how hot and how heavy depends on which side you are talking to, with Yahoo seeking to play it a bit cooler and Microsoft, according to many sources, aggressively interested in striking a deal.

Nonetheless, sources within Yahoo said that the company is also eager to make what could be a lucrative arrangement with Microsoft, which could come sooner than some expect.

In fact, execs from both companies have been meeting in Silicon Valley recently again.

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Here’s an interesting irony–Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz will have her 99th day in office on the very one that the Internet giant will announce its first-quarter earnings: April 21, 2009 at 2 p.m. PST.

Technically, it will mean that she has been running Yahoo for 100 days, a time when most administrations get their first evaluation.

Thus, if it’s good enough for President Obama, it’s good enough for Bartz!

While most expect the results for the quarter to be weak, due to the econalypse, the overall verdict from BoomTown’s needling of Yahoos to give me info on their new leader recently: Love, love, love Bartz’s innate decisiveness, and wanting more of the same.

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