Yahoo + Microsoft = Disaster?

So Microsoft and Yahoo are at it again. Speculation is running wild on whether the deal, that some have valued at $50 billion, will actually go down. But if it does, will a Microsoft and Yahoo marriage go down in flames ala AOL and Time Warner? Or is this the start of beautiful relationship filled with harmonious synergies? The blog-o-sphere sounds off below.

First lets hear from the believers.

Engadet:

"Microsoft would get a stronger online advertising presence -- something it clearly desires, as evidenced by its battle with Google for DoubleClick -- along with as an audience whose demographic supposedly skews younger and content that it could offer with Zunes, Xboxes, and the like. Yahoo would also serve to benefit, goes the argument, by picking up some of the much-needed technical expertise and financial backing required to dethrone the big G."

"An outright acquisition of Yahoo by Microsoft is almost certainly out of the question...A Microsoft-Yahoo joint venture or other partnership would allow the companies to pool their online advertising expertise as well as their traffic, and would better position them to compete against Google.

Wordyard:

"Acquisitions at this scale virtually never lead to useful combinations, strategic synergies, or anything else of use...If Microsoft acquires Yahoo, the companies' stock will initially prosper...But seven years from now Yahoo will be as much of a shell as AOL is today. The talent will flee, the user base will stagnate, and Yahoo's ability to innovate will wither under the weight of Microsoft bureaucracy and the pressure to serve Microsoft's software interests."

"While it makes some sense for Microsoft, it doesn't seem like Yahoo would get that much out of it...Which search engine will they go with? Or blogging platform? Or IM service? Or [insert duplicated function here]. It just seems a bit like it would create a sprawling mass of different products, with employees on both sides claiming that theirs is better and the other one should be canceled."