We have witnessed many interesting alignments and many interesting face-offs in the tech industry this year, highlighted last month by a shoving match between eBay and Google regarding Google's new payment web site, a competitor to eBay's PayPal service. EBay pulled their advertising from Google, but resumed relations after one week. Now Digg.com has abandoned Google in favor of Microsoft. Digg had been using Google to display advertisements on their popular content sharing and social news web site, but decided to change to a platform from Microsoft, explaining that Microsoft offers a higher level of customization.
Though it may seem small, this is a much needed victory for Microsoft. As of late, they have witnessed their share of both the browser and office software market decline, and in addition to continued anti-trust battles with various governments around the world, they have been (in my opinion) hemorrhaging support among computer users due to their decision to pick a fight with Linux users by claiming that Linux and other open-source apps violate a number of their patents. Microsoft has been attempting for a while to gain a foothold in the online advertising arena, and with Digg's reported 17 million visitors per month, this should help them do that.
I do wonder how Diggnation co-host Alex Albrecht (an avid Mac user who probably would not be caught dead wearing a Microsoft t-shirt) feels about the deal.
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