Since today is Good Friday I want to share some things that I think are particularly good on this Friday.

Search is not just good; it’s hot, hot, hot. Microsoft is aggressively getting into the paid search fray. That’s good in the short run, because anytime Microsoft gets into a market things get stirred up (thinks CRM and browsers). However, I’m not sure about how things will shake out in the long run. Microsoft usually ends up as the proverbial 800-pound gorilla in almost any category it opts to enter and in the past (think spreadsheets, word processing, operating systems and email) that’s not always turned out for the best.

Ask Jeeves is getting a boost after agreeing to be ought by Barry Diller’s IAC. Now there is speculation that other bidders are interested in everyone’s favorite Internet butler. If being acquired can help propel Ask Jeeves into the top tier of search and give Google and Yahoo a run for their money, that’s good. Also, new ideas for making search better and easier can’t be bad. It’s also good for publishers who are tired of having to bow to the Google way of doing business.

Affiliates took issue with LinkShare and let them know. That’s a good thing. What’s even better is that earlier this week LinkShare announced it had changed the wording on its new affiliate agreement regarding implied credit checks. Affiliates felt the terminology in LinkShare’s new membership agreement made it sound like signing up to become an affiliate was dependent on a credit check. LinkShare CEO Steve Messer wrote a lengthy message on an affiliate forum to try and clear up the confusion.

A recently released study by Keynote published in Internet Retailer says that more people are turning to the Web to buy cars. Seventy-six percent of those surveyed say they would visit a manufacturers website before making a purchase. More than half of the respondents say they preferred looking online to other methods of research. I guess I think that’s good only because I’m in the market for a new car and I like feeling that I’m going about my research in the right way.

Other random things that are making me feel really good on this day include The Office, Revenue magazine and an off-beat Easter egg hunt.

Let me know the good things about your affiliate business.