Microsoft's next move

Microsoft's withdrawal of its bid to buy Yahoo has many analysts trying to guess what the company's next move will be.

In a story by the Associated Press technology writer Jessica Mintz, analysts seem to be divided on the course it should take. Some analysts say Microsoft must increase its search traffic to attract advertisers. Others believe Microsoft should concede that market to Google and find success elsewhere — leapfrogging rivals in areas such as display and mobile advertising.

The story refers to its next move as "Plan C" (Plan A being Microsoft trying to go it alone and Plan B being its attempted buyout of Yahoo). It could be that the company gets a bigger stake in Facebook (it owns 1.6 percent now) or make a play for AOL.

I don't know if these things will happen or not. I am not a business analyst. But one thing I believe is Microsoft can't be another Google. It has to be an innovator - not a follower. Google will always get the attention -- the word has become a verb, for Pete's sake. Microsoft's Live Search service is not bad, and perhaps instead of tweaking it to be more like Google, they should raise the bar.

It will be interesting. Are we seeing the beginning of the end of Microsoft, or the beginning of more innovation? What do you think will happen?