I just had a very enjoyable dinner with my colleague Alan Rimm-Kaufman, founder of paid search firm, Rimm-Kaufman Group. We always have such thought-provoking conversations whenever we meet up. This evening was no exception.

At one point our conversation turned to Microsoft. What can they do about Google and Yahoo eating their lunch? Microsoft has become an “also ran” in the paid search space. They are so far behind in paid search (organic search, too, for that matter), that it’s going to take a miracle for them to pull out from behind. Or not? Could they perhaps launch a devastating nuclear attack against Google, wiping out the entire paid search industry in the process? Believe it or not, the answer is “yes,” and the approach would be surprisingly simple and inexpensive for Microsoft to implement…

Alan described Paul Bryant’s “doomsday” scenario to me as follows (hat tip to Alan, btw)… Microsoft simply introduces a Google ad blocker to Windows (which works in IE and Firefox) and pushes it out through a Windows Update. And here’s the kicker — Microsoft turns it ON by default! Of course they will also have to block their own ads, so they don’t get nailed under anti-trust laws.

Scary.