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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

#61

Post by vidarh »

derefr wrote: post #25
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.

Tumblr is tricky. Mess with it and they'd very quickly have a rapidly escalating campaign seeking peoples head on a stake. Tumblr users already regularly express deep suspicion or hate for Tumblr staff whenever they tweak some small aspect of the service.

If they get it right,, I agree it could be a big deal, but the potential for totally destroying it by accident is great.

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

#62

Post by tomc1985 »

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…

Why does the world need yet another social network?

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

#63

Post by vidarh »

cant_kant wrote: post #36
jahewson wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yahoo considers itself a "media" company. And therein lies the problem.

I read the WSJ, FT, NYT, RCP, and The Hill if I want exposure to the "media". And HN for light entertainment. There is no way that I would look at inane posturing on Yahoo's blogs.

That's your choice, but Yahoo's content verticals provides a huge proportion of their overall pageviews and ad revenue. The successful ones, like Yahoo Finance, are still huge.

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

#65

Post by bksenior »

cft wrote: post #42
snorrah wrote: post #30

What the fuck is a content vertical?

The development of such language ("content verticals") indicates the transition of a maturing industry from the founders/builders to the executives/gate keepers. They create such language to inflate the value of their executive work which is necessary in corporate politics, as opposed to the value creation process of founders who build new things and call them simply.

Would you prefer them say "categories of content on the site that tend to deal with a central topic or theme." Content vertical is a pretty standard term.

These kind of judgemental blanket statements have no place on a site like this,and worse show a lack of experience working in any large company. Please try to be more productive when contributing.

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

#67

Post by calebegg »

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.

I love how Yahoo Answers is basically a crowd-sourced unit conversion engine that makes lots of mistakes. I notice it show up a lot below the Google-supplied unit conversion I'm actually seeking.

Example: https://www.google.com/search?&q=what+is+3+lbs+in+kg+site%3A...

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

#68

Post by mikkelewis »

jonahx wrote: post #58
cft wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The development of such language ("content verticals") indicates the transition of a maturing industry from the founders/builders to the executives/gate keepers. They create such language to inflate the value of their executive work which is necessary in corporate politics, as opposed to the value creation process of founders who build new things and call them simply.

Translation: Middle management invents slang like this to seem more important.

I'm sorry you've been rubbed the wrong way to be so bitter on just a term.

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

#70

Post by 1024core »

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…

> And I am gobsmacked Yahoo has not at least made an attempt at a real social network.

3: Yahoo 360, Yahoo Kickstart and Yahoo Buzz.

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