Friday 6 April 2012

Yahoo! again!!

Yaa...hoo...! is how a hit Hindi song of the bygone era, enacted by the indefatigable late Shammi Kapoor, and sung by another of that clan, the late Mohd. Rafi, composed by the very talented duo Shankar-Jaikishan, goes.

Either the song was a hit because of its intrinsic value - all actors involved, or by two individuals exclusively - Shammi and Rafi. It has lived several decades, and still enjoyed by numerous Bollywood song lovers.

The other Yahoo! that's not keeping well is our own, new-gen, one-time IT behemoth, Yahoo! It is hoped that Yahoo! isn't taken to the ICU, and that it regains its lost glory, it's become imperative to understand what ails the company, and how did it come to this point.

The CEO Scott Thompson's email address to its employees only shows the sad story of bucking up the once-invigorated flock, the words "we can do this" and "we will do this" actually posing as a threat to the readers rather than soothing. The folks at Yahoo! would help the web world if they are soothed by the words.

Wasn't it a feel-young, look-young company, with oodles confidence, spirit that flowed to the user as well? Is it being slow in the race that afflicted Yahoo!, that others sped ahead of it by way of pro-active change, who read the ever-aspiring users' minds correctly? Or is it some road-map gone awry on the way?

It was sad, too, to read about the layoff of 2000 employees. Those guys, also the old folks who moved on in the past, were also part of the team that made Yahoo! successful, feel-young and look-young. Without them, Yahoo! inside wouldn't be the same anymore. And those that are there must not feel the heat to give their best.

The Internet world isn't small enough to not accommodate new players - only, the ones that are there should also change. Did Yahoo! lose because of its non-presence in the social networking space? Or is social networking not correctly understood by the company? It did have a very popular email solution, an IM platform, which didn't seem to go forward as the times changed. The world has moved on from being email-savvy to social networking, and it is bound to change allegiance to other concepts that may change the way how we communicate with the world outside. Yahoo! doesn't just need pep-talking, but also hep-talking!

The Internet edifice needs more than two pillars, to first stand, and more to grow up strong and reach the sky. Yahoo! has to reinforce itself as a pillar, and once again be part of the growing, strong edifice called the Internet World!


No comments:

Post a Comment