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January 17, 2007

Wired Writes Yahoo's Eulogy

Wired reporter Fred Vogelstein has penned a 3,200-word eulogy to Yahoo, "How Yahoo Blew It." The story chronicles Yahoo CEO Terry Semel's refusal to buy Google for $5 billion in 2002 (about the value of Yahoo itself at the time); the difficulties in integrating Yahoo's directory, Inktomi's search engine, and Overture search ad system; and the delays of Panama.

Yahoo responded to the piece with a statement, acknowledging Panama's timeline went long, but insisting that it was a "heroic" effort on Yahoo's part to build the system. "Engineers and technologists from throughout Yahoo aligned to build the colossal 'brain' that powers our new platform and will allow us to innovate in search marketing more rapidly than ever before," Semel said in the statement.

He also notes, indirectly, that Yahoo isn't quite dead yet.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on January 17, 2007 10:41 AM