"Big Story Alert - TripAdvisor and Expedia work together" ????

So I was trawling through Wiwih.com and saw the above title which was in the Blog feed. It linked to an article from Travolution.co.uk Blog. It had "++ Big Story Alert ++" so I had to click.

The by-line was "UK media giant Sky has persuaded Expedia and TripAdvisor to put into practice what many have seen as one of the most valuable ways to utilise two mar.."

My first thought was, like, "What's the big deal?"

Doesn't Expedia own TripAdvisor? Yes they certainly do. Check it here. Direct quote: "TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network are operating companies of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE)."

Travolution Blog: "The deal is the first time Expedia and TripAdvisor in the UK have worked together with a third party website." The operative phrase is "in the UK".

Folks, it ain't big news to have two operating units of the same company work together. It's sometimes called "Synergy" (oops.. the "S" word again).

It took InterActive Corp (IAC) long enough. I mean IAC bought Expedia in 2003 and then bought TripAdvisor in 2004. Then they lumped TripAdvisor along with a number of other purchases (Hotwire, Hotels.com; see longer shopping list here) and, in 2005, put the whole freaking monster into the stock market as Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE).

Synergy be damned. Money first. I wish I was Barry Diller.

So anyway... three years later... the various "little" purchases start working together. And that's "Big News"?

Hmmm... Then again, may be it is big news.