Lanzone

IAC/Interactive's future has been a carefully followed story by the press. ZDNet's Donna Bogatin interviewed Ask.com CEO Jim Lanzone this week on its strategy (via Marketing Pilgrim).

Lanson sees Ask.com - and all of IAC's other web properties - as ingredients that can be mixed together to bring increased functionality to its holdings at large. This view contrasts with IAC CEO Barry Diller's stated belief that Ask.com is the glue that would bind them to each other.

Lanson also said AskX is a "testing ground for what the next generation of Ask.com could be." The best qualities of AskX will ultimately migrate to Ask.com.

Lanson's ultimate goal is to convert more users to Ask.com - which handles 10 percent of all search queries. The goal isn't to create a new search experience but to fulfil most consumers' number one demand: search.