Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer paid “lip service” to a Yahoo! deal and cleverly set the stage for acquiring Facebook, during his keynote at the Digital Hollywood Media Summit.

Yahoo!’s stock price shot up on the news of his comments, but I think the press and the markets are missing the big picture: Microsoft’s is using the “potential Yahoo! deal” as a red herring with investors. Ballmer is using Yahoo! to convince the market that Microsoft needs to buy Facebook to compete with Google, and to set a price floor of 50 billion for the acquisition.   Microsoft may be facing a situation where Facebook usage grows so fast that its costs skyrocket, creating a cash crunch, and in this difficult fundraising environment it’s best bet is just to buy Facebook.
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The most social brides are most likely socializing on Facebook, given the social network’s dominance online. So it’s no surprise that The Knot, one of the most recognizable online brands for wedding planning, has acquired one of the most popular wedding Facebook apps Weddingbook. The Knot has actually acquired WedSnap, the development company behind Weddingbook’s Facebook application, with sure hopes of tapping into Facebook’s wedding-specific demographic.
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