Google and Yahoo

How fast things change in Internet business. It was not many summers ago that Google was darling of everybody as someone who just wouldn't do anything wrong. And now suddenly, or it seems so, they are getting lots of bad press. In my opinion it was bound to happen. It is in nature of us to fear and hate Big. And when we have something small coming and challenging the Big, we like it. David and Goliath. But it is in nature of small to become Big and eventually become what it was fighting against. Google could challenge Microsoft because it was small, focussed, running on steroid and churning out innovations after innovations and even before Microsoft could understand what was happening the ground had shifted. Now Google dominates search market, has done spate of acquisitions and even its relationship with Mozilla is seen as its intentions of becoming a monopoly. So it will be interesting to see what happens next, now, that goole has acquired the bloat and its core is far away from its periphery.

Another poster boy of internet age, Yahoo is already going through tough times. After a Microsoft's failed attempt to acquire it, it is negotiating a deal with Google to stay afloat. (How fast tables turn. Not long back, Yahoo had almost but bought Google). As reported on techcrunch, Jerry Yang Chang has been on receiving end of criticism. Press seems to hint that Yang has to listen to his shareholders and safeguard their interests. Yes, but, didn’t Yahoo lose its way because it had hired Terry Semel, a Warner Brother executive, who thought that future for Yahoo was in becoming a media company and all the shareholder were excited! So unlike Google , which was cleverly controlled by Larry Page and , Sergey Brin, Yahoo lost touch from its technological roots and drifted even when smaller companies were creating social networking sites and You-Tubes!! I think, instead of shareholders , yahoo needs to re-focus on its customers and give them what they want to use. But it looks dismal. It’s hard for a big company to change course. Can it find its Blue Ocean to stay afloat is the question! It will be interesting to see what happens next.