NONE: ONLINE-ADS>> Can we live without Yahoo
ONLINE-ADS>> Can we live without Yahoo
Bob Schmidt (schmidt_at_magicnet.net)
Thu, 05 Mar 1998 23:03:27 -0500
Richard Hoy writes,
>My opinion is that if Yahoo is now a "media company," then they need to say
>this. It needs to be clear that my chances of getting "coverage" in Yahoo
>are akin to getting coverage in any other media outlet. Plus I think they
>should have editorial guidelines to give PR people some direction on what
>criteria sites need to meet in order for Yahoo deem them worthy.
>
>What do you all think about this?
Well, Yahoo may be a media company today (I think it should be), but of
course that ain't how it started out. I don't know who Srinija Srinivasan
is, but I do know who Jerry Yang is and he weren't not no media executive a
scant four to five years ago when it all began.
Yahoo has always reserved the right to categorize and to include or not
include as it sees fit. However, it is entirely fair to say that Internet
users have demonstrated great support for Yahoo, indeed, built much of the
content of Yahoo one url at a time and to a large and significant extent
made it possible for Yahoo to be what it is today. Yahoo appears to be
wildly successful. In my opinion, on the face of it, it would not be
asking too much of Yahoo to use some of its rich resources to organize
itself so as to make it possible for every web site to be listed in the
appropriate category according to Yahoo, and the appropriate category
according to the site owner.
No directory or search engine can stagnate. Stagnation and stasis will only
breed entropy. Yahoo must keep up with the growth of the net just like all
the other directories and search engines or it will lose its usefullness in
the user's mind. Perhaps the method of adding new content to Yahoo must
also change. However, this could become a double edged sword.
Perhaps Yahoo's resources afford it the ability to undertake the
comprehensive net-wide overview required to keep its directory up to date
without the assistance of users who voluntarily submit new sites. It is
hard to fathom the idea that any organization has sufficient resources to
do this. If user submissions continue to be important to Yahoo, then it is
only reasonable to expect at least a good faith effort to cooperate with
site owners seeking listings, free of corporate double speak. Perhaps Yahoo
can make it from now on by focusing soley on content deals. Still,
voluntary contribution of content is a deal most would have a hard time
passing up. Not to mention that the logicial extension of pay to play
content deals is payment to site owners for the right to list their sites
in the search engine-- a complete reversal of practices -- and economics --
to date.
It is one thing to suggest the addition of someone else's web site. It is
another to request a listing for one's own site. As difficult as it is to
achieve meaningful results in any of the search engines, it is ironic that
Yahoo, with a listing methodology that thwarts queue jumping, actually has
a great opportunity to position itself as the one listing area on the net
that is responsive to site owners. The thing about the Internet is, a site
owner submits a site one day and comes back the next day as an Internet
user to look around and see all the banner ads-- or buy stock in the
company. It will be interesting to see how Yahoo responds and adapts to
site owner perceptions that it is difficult to get listed.
Bob Schmidt
www.provider.com
Author of The Geek's Guide to Internet Business Success
The Definitive Business Blueprint for Internet Designers, Developers,
Programmers, Marketers, Consultants and Service Providers
Published by John Wiley & Sons ISBN: 0471288381
http://provider.com/geeksguide/
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