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Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

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Re: Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

#21

Post by skewart »

smegel wrote: post #13

This might be the first good move Yahoo has made since Mayer took over. I can't think of a better example of a company that needs to shed worthless baggage and focus on high value propositions. And I am gobsmacked Yahoo has not at least made an attempt at a real social network. They have hundreds of millions of users, at the point they are in giving all their users an automatic account on Yahoo Social might be a dick…

What would be the point of building a social network for Yahoo? Better engagement? I'm pretty sure they always have been a destination for much of their audience (as opposed to depending on social sharing to get eyeballs, like, say BuzzFeed). So I'm not sure they'd have a whole lot to gain from it. Of course, their audience probably will spend more and more time on social networks, so stemming that tide somehow might make sense.

Rather than building out a full-scale social network like Google+ they might be better served by aiming for something like Reddit, or HN. There's enough sociability and gamification to make it an engaging destination, but it's not confusingly trying to reproduce a Facebook. Of course maybe this kind of lightweight social network is what you meant in the first place.

Re: Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

#22

Post by lostcolony »

AznHisoka wrote: post #6

What about Yahoo Answers? I hate seeing their results show up in the top 3 when I do a Google search. They're always low quality and not useful.

No, that needs to stay. Just so My Brother, My Brother and Me can continue answering them.

Re: Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

#23

Post by emidln »

smegel wrote: post #13

This might be the first good move Yahoo has made since Mayer took over. I can't think of a better example of a company that needs to shed worthless baggage and focus on high value propositions. And I am gobsmacked Yahoo has not at least made an attempt at a real social network. They have hundreds of millions of users, at the point they are in giving all their users an automatic account on Yahoo Social might be a dick…

Yahoo circa 2000 was a social network, with your yahoo account connecting messaging, chat, games, websites, and loads of other stuff.

Re: Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

#25

Post by derefr »

smegel wrote: post #13

This might be the first good move Yahoo has made since Mayer took over. I can't think of a better example of a company that needs to shed worthless baggage and focus on high value propositions. And I am gobsmacked Yahoo has not at least made an attempt at a real social network. They have hundreds of millions of users, at the point they are in giving all their users an automatic account on Yahoo Social might be a dick…

They've already got Tumblr; they just need to... do something, anything at all with it, rather than just letting it sit there. Integrate Yahoo's various news properties into the feed, and vice-versa. Make all of the commenting on every Yahoo property into gradual-engagement reblogs on a Tumblr blog you're not even realizing you're creating as you're creating it. Etc.

Re: Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

#27

Post by imaginenore »

cant_kant wrote: post #24

Yahoo has digital magazines ? Why would a search company have junk like that ? How much other worthless baggage do they have ?

Ad space. They need to do something with their audience. They tried various content niches. Some failed, some didn't.

Re: Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

#28

Post by smegel »

skewart wrote: post #21
smegel wrote: post #13

This might be the first good move Yahoo has made since Mayer took over. I can't think of a better example of a company that needs to shed worthless baggage and focus on high value propositions. And I am gobsmacked Yahoo has not at least made an attempt at a real social network. They have hundreds of millions of users, at the point they are in giving all their users an automatic account on Yahoo Social might be a dick…

What would be the point of building a social network for Yahoo? Better engagement? I'm pretty sure they always have been a destination for much of their audience (as opposed to depending on social sharing to get eyeballs, like, say BuzzFeed). So I'm not sure they'd have a whole lot to gain from it. Of course, their audience probably will spend more and more time on social networks, so stemming that tide somehow might…

> What would be the point of building a social network for Yahoo? Better engagement?

Maybe just more engagement. People spend a hell of a lot of time on Facebook.

I am thinking a social networking site like Facebook, combined with a mobile app that not only acts as a client to the social network, but also emulates the easy sharing features of instagram/snapshat/periscope. Something the younger generation will want to use all day.

I mean, the hardest thing about building a social network is getting users. It is not as simple as "built it and they will come". Yahoo already has the users, to not leverage them seems crazy (or maybe I am).

And in response to other comments about Tumblr...just no. Tumblr is not a social network, it is a bogging site, one of many. Facebook doesn't have a stand alone blogging site, and Google has left it's one to rot, there is probably a good reason for this.

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