So, two small acquisitions in a week, for an online contest company and a social network for blog visitors. What's with Yahoo's recent burst of activity? The cynical take: these are consolation prizes. The online corp saw video sharing site Youtube snatched away from them by Google at the very last minute. And word is that negotiations with Facebook, the other online phenomenon on the market right now, ground to a halt in September. Facebook execs felt Yahoo was dragging its heels, and there was confusion over the role that Mark Zuckerberg would take. And, why's Yahoo finding it so hard to make large deals? Because Yahoo CEO, Terry Semel, is a cautious guy, sometimes an admirable quality, but not if one, for example, turns down the chance to buy Google for $1bn.

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