Why Isn’t Yahoo Part of the Evil Empire?

For years, mentioning “Evil Empire” within the halls of IT, brought to mind only one company: Microsoft.

AOL’s domination over other ISP’s has often illicited similar responses.

Over the last two or so years, Google’s name has become part of the “Evil Empire.” As it produces services that raise eyebrows about privacy and data collection, worries about Google abound.

Then there is Yahoo. They have been the #1 website for the last decade. They often buy up other sites that offer unique services. Yet, as best as I can recall, their name has been kept out of “evil empire” discussions. Why is that?

I have to admit, first, that maybe I am wrong in this. Maybe discussions about the Evil Empire of Yahoo do exist. However, I am inclined to think that Yahoo typically generates a favorable response in people when their name is mentioned.

Yahoo’s recipe for teflon may be found in the fact that they aren’t soley focused on one thing. While this has indeed been a general criticism of Yahoo, this may in fact have protected it from some of the negativity that has arisen around other large companies. Yahoo’s trick has been to dominate without dominating one thing. Find oneself on everyone’s desktop or searched by 75% of those searching, then criticism and antipathy begin to grow.

Can Yahoo continue to wear its teflon? Yes, only if they continue to do what they do best: be a portal with many services. Focusing on search or any other aspect of their business will most certainly bring them a higher level of criticism.

[tags]yahoo[/tags]