Will Mash make Yahoo a better Number 2?
In the history of monolithic number two companies there have been a variety of innovations that have shifted the market place’s attention from the leader. Pepsi made clear cola, Reebok put a .002-psi pump in a shoe, Burger King concocted some sort of Chicken French Fry, and now Yahoo is creating a social networking site.
With ideas like this Yahoo deserves their perpetual silver medal, or in some cases: purple participatory ribbon.
Yahoo Mash is the number two search engine’s attempt to enter the already crowded social networking arena; and although it hasn’t been formally released, one can only guess that Mash is the byproduct of Yahoo’s highly publicized $1.6 billion Facebook acquisition fall-out. Either that or their R&D time travelers just returned from the year 2003.
The Yahoo Mash blog boasts new social networking innovations such as the ability to change your friends profile settings (I guess I shouldn’t have pluralized “innovation”). However, if you keep in mind the design and functions of Yahoo’s current social networking site, Yahoo 360, the ability to do more than update a blog is absolutely mind-blowing. All ribbing aside– I want Yahoo to prove me wrong. I want this site to make Mark Zuckerburg think twice before he orders his third Critsal and Sprite. I want this to be the application Google kicks itself for not thinking of. I want the tables to be turned for at least one fiscal quarter! However I don’t think any of this can be done until Yahoo stops its reactive development.
Second place is undoubtedly the first loser, but no movie was ever made about the winning bobsled team of the ‘88 Winter Olympics. There has to be a point where Yahoo steps up and outside of the box, and is recognized for being the innovator of something. It doesn’t have to stick, but it has to be memorable, and in order for this to happen Yahoo needs to stop playing catch up and start creating a bobsled team!
