It was, most likely, the first global search engine of the digital age. It was born 30 years ago, but ended up being overtaken by the competition. Did you know that Yahoo could have bought Google for… a million dollars?
Yahoo could have bought Google
Yahoo, founded in 1994 by Jerry Yang and David Filo, two engineering students at Stanford University, began as a directory of web pages organized hierarchically, an innovative way to facilitate access to the growing amount of information available on the Internet.
Originally called "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web", the name was changed to Yahoo!, an abbreviation of "Yet Another Hierarchically Organized Oracle".
Yahoo quickly became one of the most popular portals and one of the leading search engines at the beginning of the internet era, playing a crucial role for millions of users in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
During the 1990s (when the Internet was an emerging novelty), Yahoo became one of the main portals for millions of users looking for information, news, e-mails and online services.
It was one of the first platforms to offer a diverse set of services, including Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Answers. This diversity attracted users and advertisers, making it a household name on the web and one of the most valuable companies of the time.
It pioneered the creation of one of the first commercial search engines, competing with companies such as AltaVista and Lycos. However, its importance was not limited to its search engine: the company stood out for creating a multimedia and services platform that included news, weather forecasts, e-commerce, among other features. In the early 2000s, Yahoo reached the peak of its popularity and was valued at over 100 billion dollars.
Decline and competition
Despite the initial resounding success, the Yahoo began to lose ground in the 2000sespecially with the emergence of competitors like Google.
Several strategic missteps contributed to its decline. One of the most notable was its refusal to acquire Google in 1998, when Larry Page and Sergey Brin offered their now-dominant search engine for the sum of... one million dollars. Yahoo declined the proposal, a decision that would have a negative impact on its future.
In addition, other management mistakes were made. Between 2005 and 2011, the company was led by several CEOs, each with a different vision, which led to a lack of focus and a clear strategy.
The company made several expensive acquisitions, such as purchase of the Tumblr blog network for $1.1 billions, but these acquisitions did not result in significant returns. At the same time, Yahoo missed opportunities to invest in search technology and innovation, leaving Google to lead the way with its superior technology.
The platform has also faced security issues. In 2013 and 2014, Yahoo was the victim of large-scale cyberattacks, resulting in the exposure of data from over 3 billion accounts. This scandal further damaged its reputation and trust among users, resulting in a loss of market value.
The current state of the search engine
In 2017, after years of decline, Yahoo was acquired by Verizon for $4.48 billion, a fraction of its market value at the company's peak.
The Yahoo brand still exists and continues to offer some of its popular services, such as Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Sports, but with a much smaller presence compared to past decades.
Under Verizon's leadership, Yahoo was integrated into the Oath unit, which was later renamed Verizon Media. However, in 2021, Verizon decided to sell Yahoo and other digital media assets to private equity group Apollo Global Management, retaining only a minority stake. Under this new structure, Yahoo continues to exist, but it no longer has the weight and influence it once had.
Clear the way
The truth is that Yahoo was, in some way, responsible for opening up new avenues that had previously been little explored. One example was Yahoo Answers, one of Yahoo's best-known platforms, which closed in 2021. It was a space where users could ask questions on any topic, and other users would answer them, but the low quality of the answers and the emergence of better alternatives led to its closure.
Yahoo was once the most visited website in the world, even surpassing Google in the late 1990s and played a fundamental role in popularizing the internet, establishing itself as one of the most recognized brands of the digital age.
A lack of strategic vision, an inability to compete with Google, and security issues all contributed to its decline. Yahoo's downfall thus serves as a reminder of the rapid evolution of the digital world and the need for continuous innovation.
Source: pplware.sapo.pt
