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A couple of days ago I asked my interview subject if Google was the next Microsoft.

Kevin Kelleher, contributing to TheStreet.com, tackles this question himself in Google vs. Microsoft: The Great Tech Debate.

The gist of the article is that innovation is the first thing to go when Microsoft falls behind on its timelines, so that what starts as an ambitious and buzz-worthy project ends up being a cheap imitation of something already on the market.

Google, on the other hand, has a corporate culture that is very passionate about innovation and less susceptible to compromise, although it keeps its cards close to the vest.

The cowboy mentality that served Google so well during its early days, says John Battelle, needs to make way for a “balanced mixture of leadership, will, and diplomacy.” Whether or not the company can make that shift will determine if it can “avoid the fate which ultimately hobbled Microsoft.”

Me thinks that all this attention on the Google vs. Microsoft war is going to be good for Yahoo, which is staying out of this cutthroat tech competition by standing by its “we’re a media company” positioning.