5 ms·

I’m a bit confused at what Bartz’ strategy was? If she deinvested in search, where did she expect Yahoo to succeed over Google?

subpixel 5y ago
I think it was in no small part about selling ads on Yahoo-owned media or through a Yahoo ad network.
- Bukhmanizer 5y ago
  Isn’t that what Google was doing?
  - cbsmith 5y ago
    Google is doing that (particularly with YouTube), as is everyone else. I don't think they break down the search vs. other ad business any more, but at last check it was still the biggest single source of revenue for the company (admittedly, I believe YouTube and adsense collectively generate more revenue for them now, but both of these are primarily showing ads on other people's content).
    - Bukhmanizer 5y ago
      Ah ok, so her strategy was to pull out on search, but focus on higher quality/yield ads? It still seems like a bit of a losing strategy as I don’t see any reason for people to stay with Yahoo.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
      - cbsmith 5y ago
        Yahoo at the time was #1 in a number of categories, including fantasy sports, finance, etc. In other areas they were #2 and the marginal value of being #1 vs. #2 wasn't nearly as great as in search. The focus wasn't so much higher quality/yield ads (I mean, that was there, but everyone was always looking for that), but investing in other kinds of online services that would get a better ROI.
  - subpixel 5y ago
    It's been a long time but I seem to recall Yahoo's approach being decidedly old school. They were trying to create or buy must-read and must-watch content to sell ads against. The marketing message was that at Yahoo.com you will find all the news and entertainment you could ever need!
cbsmith 5y ago
It's almost like there are more ways to make money than search. ;-) Bartz really wasn't there long enough to execute on a strategy, but her point was that the opportunity cost of continuing to try to win the search engine wars was far greater than the likely value of the investment. At least from a historical perspective she was right. Alibaba, social media, mobile, games, content, etc. All of those spaces had lots of opportunity for the right moves.
- andy_ppp 5y ago
  Is 21 months not enough time to execute on a strategy?
  - cbsmith 5y ago
    At such a large company? Not really. You can certainly start execution of a strategy, and she did, but it takes a long time to turn such a big boat and fully realize a strategic vision.
    - andy_ppp 5y ago
      If she was doing so well with this vision (mobile/games/social something) why did she only last 21 months? Which products did she launch?
      - cbsmith 5y ago
        I didn't suggest she was "doing so well with this vision". If anything, I was pointing out that it'd be hard to know if the company would be "doing well" with her vision, given the limited time window. It was a short stint, and my memory is dull, so I can't remember which products were launched under her watch, but that's the wrong measure in first place (indeed, this was the company from which the Peanut Butter Manifesto sprang). There's really not a lot of question about her changing a lot of things at the company though. I found this article talking about the impact she had after the first four months: https://www.reuters.com/article/stocksAndSharesNews/idUKLNE54400I20090505 https://www.reuters.com/article/stocksAndSharesNews/idUKLNE5...

subpixel 5y ago

I think it was in no small part about selling ads on Yahoo-owned media or through a Yahoo ad network.

Bukhmanizer 5y ago
Isn’t that what Google was doing?
- cbsmith 5y ago
  Google is doing that (particularly with YouTube), as is everyone else. I don't think they break down the search vs. other ad business any more, but at last check it was still the biggest single source of revenue for the company (admittedly, I believe YouTube and adsense collectively generate more revenue for them now, but both of these are primarily showing ads on other people's content).
  - Bukhmanizer 5y ago
    Ah ok, so her strategy was to pull out on search, but focus on higher quality/yield ads? It still seems like a bit of a losing strategy as I don’t see any reason for people to stay with Yahoo.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - cbsmith 5y ago
      Yahoo at the time was #1 in a number of categories, including fantasy sports, finance, etc. In other areas they were #2 and the marginal value of being #1 vs. #2 wasn't nearly as great as in search. The focus wasn't so much higher quality/yield ads (I mean, that was there, but everyone was always looking for that), but investing in other kinds of online services that would get a better ROI.
- subpixel 5y ago
  It's been a long time but I seem to recall Yahoo's approach being decidedly old school. They were trying to create or buy must-read and must-watch content to sell ads against. The marketing message was that at Yahoo.com you will find all the news and entertainment you could ever need!

cbsmith 5y ago

It's almost like there are more ways to make money than search. ;-) Bartz really wasn't there long enough to execute on a strategy, but her point was that the opportunity cost of continuing to try to win the search engine wars was far greater than the likely value of the investment. At least from a historical perspective she was right. Alibaba, social media, mobile, games, content, etc. All of those spaces had lots of opportunity for the right moves.

andy_ppp 5y ago
Is 21 months not enough time to execute on a strategy?
- cbsmith 5y ago
  At such a large company? Not really. You can certainly start execution of a strategy, and she did, but it takes a long time to turn such a big boat and fully realize a strategic vision.
  - andy_ppp 5y ago
    If she was doing so well with this vision (mobile/games/social something) why did she only last 21 months? Which products did she launch?
    - cbsmith 5y ago
      I didn't suggest she was "doing so well with this vision". If anything, I was pointing out that it'd be hard to know if the company would be "doing well" with her vision, given the limited time window. It was a short stint, and my memory is dull, so I can't remember which products were launched under her watch, but that's the wrong measure in first place (indeed, this was the company from which the Peanut Butter Manifesto sprang). There's really not a lot of question about her changing a lot of things at the company though. I found this article talking about the impact she had after the first four months: https://www.reuters.com/article/stocksAndSharesNews/idUKLNE54400I20090505 https://www.reuters.com/article/stocksAndSharesNews/idUKLNE5...