Microsoft's plan for Web growth, minus Yahoo and Facebook
Sure, Microsoft would buy Facebook, but management knows Zuckerberg's not going to sell — and unlike Yang, he controls his company's board. As for Yahoo, well, "Yahoo can twist," one source told BoomTown. "Microsoft has lots and lots of other options." Redmond's favorite? Granola. Microsoft's internal plans for a post-Yahoo reality are code-named "Project Granola" because the company now wants to grow its online properties "organically," like every hippy's favorite breakfast food. But to us, the name seems utterly fitting in its blandness: Microsoft chairman Bill Gates told the WSJ that Microsoft's big plans include more "advances" in search, more marketing and more meetings in Redmond, Washington. That kind of bureaucratic strategy sounds like management needs a high colonic, not just more dietary fiber. (Photo by Adry Long)