The Fight For Yahoo’s Future (Part 2)

11/17/2012 9:33:09 AM

Back in 2000 when spider bots and web-crawlers started gaining paramount importance, Yahoo realize the inefficiency of their own search engine, and decided to bring in Google to help them out. One of the people Yahoo got in touch with was none other than Mayer. Apparently she made quite an impression, combined with her achievements over the past twelve years, leading Yahoo to offer her the post of CEO in 2012. Having gotten caught in a change of personnel at Google and being looked over for promotion, the time was right for a move.

There is a reason Microsoft was willing to fork out US$44.6 Billion in an attempt to buy Yahoo in 2008. Even heading download, Yahoo still has some intrinsic worth. What’s more, stronger focus over the past few years on news aggregation has seen Yahoo regaining relevance, in part thanks to Facebook integration. In addition, feature like Yahoo Pipes have allowed people to build their own new aggregator/RSS feed applications, offering a level of customization not found elsewhere. The company’s commitment to research is well-known and they still run extensive research labs. Flickr might have missed out on the “post photo” bandwagon due to its lack of immediacy, but the service stull holds tremendous appeal to many shutterbugs.

It seems as if the infrastructure is present at Yahoo to succeed, but there isn’t anyone with the vision to lead the way. Yahoo’s focus over the last decade has jumped from news, to search, to music, to social networks, and more. Luckily for Yahoo, Mayer has made a career out of product development. She grew the search engine from the beginning, then branching out into Google News, Google Books and Google Desktop Search. Yahoo is hoping she can bring the same tight control over product development to their side. However, the way forward isn’t easy,

Description: google-apps

By going with Mayer, instead of then-interim-CEO (and heavy favorite Ross Levinsohn), Yahoo clearly throws down the gauntlet, and is going head to head with Google. Mayer’s expertise lies in the realm of search engines and product development, while Levinsohn has the reputation of being media-savvy. Though the two could make an excellent partnership, Levinsohn who was operating as Vice President Head of Global Media, stepped down of his own volition. Media is one aspect of Yahoo’s portfolio that Mayer cannot afford to overlook and finding a capable replacement is essential.

However, having been in the tech industry for well over 10 years, was well as being one of the mentors involved in Google’s illustrious Associate Product Manager program, Mayer should have no problems in assembling a new team of top-notch individuals.

That said, Mayer has already begun what some would call a “Google-frication” of Yahoo, mere weeks after taking charge. For examples, Mayer stated that all cafeteria food on premises will be free of charge, starting with the Silicon Valley offices. In addition, weekly Friday meeting involving the entire team to foster stringer ties between people have also been implemented.

Yahoo’s been through a lot in the past decade, with its stock value peaking back in 2000 at a whopping US$475 a share. Today, Yahoo trades at just above US$16 a share (at time of writing), a mere fraction of what the company used to be worth. Obviously, a few changes to corporate culture aren’t going to turn Yahoo’s fortunes around for the better. But for what it’s worth, Mayer has yet to fully spread her wings as CEO, not to mention the fact that she’s also an expecting mother. Nevertheless, the rhetoric from within Yahoo seems to suggest that she’s getting a good grasp of what coming years. Of course, only time will tell.

“The infrastructure is present at Yahoo to succeed, but there isn’t anyone with the vision to lead”.

Dead or dying Yahoo products

Yahoo 360: Social Networking site
Yahoo Auctions: Competitor with eBay
Yahoo Buzz: Community based news article site competing with Digg
Yahoo Geocities: Web hosting service
Yahoo Go: Suite of Java applications for Yahoo services on the smartphone
Delicious: Bookmark sharing service

Yahoo!

Description: Yahoo!

The yodeling shout of the word “Yahoo” is commonly known as an expression of unbridled joy and passion. But was that the meaning Jerry Yang and David Fillo had in mind when then named their site? Apparently not. Yahoo is actually an acronym that stands for “Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle” reflecting its web portal and news aggregator characteristics. Furthermore, Filo was referred to as a “yahoo” by his college girlfriend; the word yahoo is slang for a “rude, unsophisticated and uncouth person” and was commonly used by college students in Louisiana where Filo studied.