Yahoo.com Joins Mass Content Producers
Well, as the online world continues to turn into a web of user generated content…Yahoo just solidified this practice by acquiring Associated Content for $100 million, according to a recent report.
This will boost give their platform a boost of over 380k contributors, who have already cranked out 2 million articles, videos, slide shows as well as audio clips…while racking over 1.75 billion page views since launching the program in 2005. With these kind of credentials, Associated Content is bound to send Yahoo on the up swing in advertising availability as this has been their main struggle.
According to Yahoo CEO, Carol Bartz, “Together, we’ll create more content around what we know our users care about, and open up new and creative avenues for advertisers to engage with consumers across our network.”
Sounds good to me.
How many times have you searched for a specific topic and found an article by AC contributors…a timely one to say the least. The first article I found regarding the Masters T.V listings was an article written within a few hours of the 3rd round.
“Having insight into user intent through its leading search products enables Yahoo! to identify topics important to advertisers and users,” Bartz went on to say.
So how to you see Yahoo? Are they moving from a search engine to content provider? Also, will they favor the Associated Content listings in their listings…? Well, unless they want to sacrifice their results they wont, but these questions will be asked by all SEM’s around the world.
Yes, it does open doors…at what cost?
The higher ups say, it “provides more opportunities for Yahoo! to partner and collaborate with publishers who can help the company shape the tremendous variety of content coming in, into something bespoke and even more engaging.”
The bigger question should be…how does this fit into Yahoo’s overall business model? Are they trying to harness more content while growing their Yahoo Search Marketing business, or is this a new way to move apart from attempting to generate search revenue.
I don’t want to call it a desperate attempt to mask the overall problem Yahoo faces, and that’s a lack of harnessing the younger generation..instead of relying on the loyal Yahooers.
Even though they reached out and took a risk with Microsoft’s new Bing engine…nothing is guaranteed with the Seattle people when it comes to the Internet.
Again, let’s not knock this deal before it comes to fruition, but Yahoo would be wise to think about taking this new venture and somehow tie it in with what makes them great…and of course its not search. However, they should continue building upon their existing media empire…i.e Yahoo answers – this is one of their recent projects people actually cared about.
Go get em.
