IAC's Ask wants to be Google

IAC's Ask.com wants to be Google, at least for its sister properties such as Ticketmaster, Match.com, ServiceMagic etc. Given the success of Google, who doesn't want to be Google.

IAC provides Ask.com with a unique advantage to provide it sister
properties with search results. IAC's properties are some of the
fastest growing and most recognized brands on the internet.

Like MSN?
The cornerstone of the IAC strategy is to lock down its home territorry
using Ask.com and grow externally using their internal advantage. I
think this is similar to MSN's strategy. MSN has invested heavy in
search however commands less that 10% of the market. Even Yahoo! has
not made much head way.

Is it Search or Linking?
For example, a user searching for tickets on Ask.com could be (will be) direct to
tickets on Ticketmaster.com, a user looking for travel services to
Hotwire.com and a user looking for a date to Match.com. So all of IAC's
properties win all the time but not necessarily the user.

If Ask.com wants to be like Google (even for it's sister properties) it
has to be achieved on its merits as a search engine or users will
quickly notice that it is nothing like Google. Search is a very
competitive business and keeping up with Google will be more difficult
than it appears.