Sure, it's fun to speculate that Internet titans Google, eBay, Microsoft, or Yahoo! could merge in some way. And maybe eBay and Yahoo! is the most likely of any of the possible combinations, as this article posits.

But I take all the talk about such mega-deals with a grain of salt. Here's why:

- Internet companies by nature are egocentric. Even if they aren't on top now, they all think they will be on top next week, or next month, with the latest release or new innovation. And I should know since I work at AOL and that's how we feel! Even after negotiating seriously with both Microsoft and Google for months late last year, AOL still only sold A 5% stake to Google.

- Wall Street loves to do deals. Investment bankers would make millions in fees off of a giant Internet combination. They often use reports -- such as the current one from JP Morgan referred to in the article -- to try to create momentum for their ideas. But just because bankers talk about how great a merger would be, doesn't mean that execs within the companies agree.