YouTube was a brilliant move by Google. You have to beat the life out of any Wall Street analyst for something not glowing about Google, but one (true) rap would be that Yahoo! is simply more a more diversified media company.

Instead of making a big move in display ads (they have been trying and failing) and get compared to Yahoo!, Google buys YouTube, trumps Yahoo! on yet another acquisition, raises the conversation to video (Google will not forget about display) where Yahoo! has not made progress and p.s. Google can now quietly bury Google Video all in the name of progress.

How do you monetize user gen video is a way that makes advertisers and users happy? Who knows.

Impact of mental jujitsu Google continues to cause Yahoo!? Priceless.

LoudEye by Nokia
potential for Nokia to actively drive sales of music to mobiles

...how about starting a list of the “10 Internet aquisitions that did NOT happen in 2006”.  I suggest:
- Facebook by Yahoo
- Yahoo by Google (or Microsoft)
- Digg by (various)
- LastFM by Apple/iTunes
- ?

I liked Conde Nast’s deal for Reddit.  I think that will mean more to the way magazines can manage content online.