For the last many months Yahoo! is top in the news, especially business and tech sectors. It’s about one year for Jerry Yang as CEO of internet’s no. 1 giant. Stanford Uni graduates Jerry and David Filo founded the company back in 1994. What was once Jerry’s guide to www became an excellent web portal for search, mails, news, games and a lot more. Yahoo! established itself as pioneer in the infinite universe of internet.
But as time passed by and many voyaged to the same world and as the potentiality of this newly discovered universe is beyond anyone’s imagination, therefore internet continued to grow and flourish. Now Google for search, YouTube for videos, Facebook for social networking and Yahoo! for mails are the four widely and wildly used portals of the World Wide Web.
Forget all the history and the rhetoric now. Let’s roam in the reality.
All expected Yahoo! as in a strong position as it was some years before for search and online ads. But as Google took and developed with cutting-edge technology, so it became difficult for others either to catch Google or to be on the trail to compete the 100 m run (let’s say). Google championed. The thing is that search and ads are huge money and the fields are expanding like the Universe which is expanding. Combined Live/MSN and Yahoo! is not able to compete and outrun Google.
Microsoft tried to get a strong foothold by acquiring Yahoo! with the hope that if it gets the no. 1 traffic destination in the web, it will offer a sound and healthy competition with Google both in search and online ads. But it failed. Instead Yahoo! made a deal with Google.
Many are overwhelmingly disappointed at this as it looks like that Yahoo! for a marginal gain surrendered to Google. What looks like Yahoo! surrendered is it’s huge and vast potentiality, business and above all pride. But this is the reality. May be Jerry had no other options remained and we don’t know what Microsoft really offered in the deal. These are all behind the curtain.
Unlike Google where we always hear the trio: Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt, for Yahoo! we see only one person. That’s Jerry Yang. We hear about Sue Decker as well. But in fact it’s all and only Jerry. Could it be possible that he is now fighting alone to save his beloved creation. The rest who could really help him simply left him either because lack of courage or they found themselves void.
Google is now moving with a huge speed, even to the physical space, because they are three whereas Jerry is alone and most probably he is only burdened with negative news and analysis about (his) unsuccess and failure. Isn’t Microsoft partly or greatly responsible for this unwanted situation? As soon as Jerry took the helm, they pursued him with all their vigour together with unprecedented media coverage. Isn’t it embarrassing for Jerry who even didn’t find enough time to sit and think to drive the company in his own way? What looks ‘poor’ to our eyes today, we should know that Jerry had only little to make of this.
What other CEO’s and executives did? Now each one resigns and call media to get it widely covered which always leave negative impressions for Yahoo! we start to wonder what has happened, why these valuable people are leaving. But why don’t we ask whether they did their jobs with utmost sincerely and productivity. In today’s world big companies enjoy snatching away jewels from their ‘frenemies’ companies (friend and enemy both).
Media is open and we have the right to express our views and analysis of any events doesn’t matter how small or big it is. But we should always maintain a decent voice about what we talk.
Jerry is certainly very busy now. May be every minute is heavily pressed against him. But this may be only for a while. He will make things right and we will celebrate ‘
Jerry is on Earth and busy with his own works. His tasks are huge: to bring Yahoo! back to it’s glorious position. He will certainly and successfully do it. It’s just matter of time. The experiences Jerry got from the last several months will make him more wise and careful to make future decisions. Success and glory: both for Yahoo! and for Jerry!!