Yahoo and the Yahooligans
October 4, 2010
Five or six years ago, some addled outfit paid me to take a look at Yahoo, its search systems, and it plumbing. I did my thing, cooked up a report, and included a couple of PowerPoint slides to add levity to what was a quite grim report. As I recall, one of the PowerPoint foils featured a picture of the Titanic with Terry Semel as the captain of the ship. I got a chuckle, but the report had few highlights for stakeholders.
I have taken a casual interest in Yahoo since then. My own research indicated that it was a goner. I know that some of the folks who pay me for my opinions disagreed. I think the notion of a zooming Yahoo would yield some cash to my clients. Wrong. Nothing much flowed to these outfits, and with each organizational lurch, crazy decision like turning down real Microsoft money, and hiring a tough female executive to float the Yahooligans’ boat my original analysis was spot on.
Now I read “The Dream Is Collapsing: Another Massive Yahoo Re-Org Coming Next Tuesday.” I liked the write up, but my view is, “Tuesday. The collapse has taken place.” No amount of shuffling, puffing, and huffing will alter the fact that after a spectacular rise, Yahoo has become the poster child for the wind down of an online powerhouse.
There are three surprising aspects to Yahoo.
First, I am amazed at the fondness people have for the service. I still dump some old email into Yahoo Mail, but I find the system clunky. The search system often tells me I have no hits. I hate the multiple clicks it takes to see a list of what’s in the email queue. Nevertheless, there are people who like Yahoo. The news page is a stalwart for my father when he can manage to log on. Yahoo wants to kick him off the system and a 90 year old has a tough time logging in. Good thinking, Yahooligans. But he loves Yahoo.
Second, the search system has for a long, long time be worthless. I know that Yahoo has developed some experimental services. One feature little sliders which I found somewhat interesting. But the core search function has never been particularly helpful. The shopping service is a joke. I wanted to limit the search to only Yahoo Stores. I couldn’t figure out how to do it without turning cartwheels with a complex Google query. Yahoo shopping results remain deeply flawed despite efforts to change the service.
Third, I can’t find stuff available from Yahoo. The company does a lousy job of exposing its services. Now Google and Microsoft have similar problems, but of the three, Yahoo is in my opinion, unable to let me find specific Yahoo services. I created some links in a Yahoo bookmark service. Then I could never find that service again. I am not sure anyone at Yahoo knows what is available, nor is anyone particularly concerned with providing a directly to Yahoo itself. Directory. Remember, Yahooligans? That was your core service.
Finally, have you ever tried to locate some of the innovative work done with various Yahoo tools? Well, I have. I have written about Cluuz.com, which at one time, made Yahoo results quite useful. I have stumbled across others, but Yahoo cannot find a way to provide one click access to developers’ work that showcases Yahoo. I think this is not just indifference. I don’t think anyone at Yahoo knows about much other than what is in front of them at this moment. The culture that bought companies and left to their own devices is still intact. A shift to Microsoft management won’t make much difference because the DNA of the company is in the carpet and cubicles I think.
So is Yahoo a goner? Some pundits want AOL to buy Yahoo or Yahoo to buy AOL. My view right now is that there is no easy, simple solution. Tuesday is already here for Yahoo I think.
Stephen E Arnold, October 4, 2010
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