Lorem Ipsum

Alright, this was too good to pass up.  I have been extremely busy lately but all this buzz was enough for me to come out of my hiatus and throw my 2 cents in.  Here’s where we are:

- Microsoft pulled offer this weekend

- Yahoo! is still pursuing Google and other alternatives

- Jerry Yang still open to talk with Microsoft….WAIT, let’s back up again

- Microsoft pulled offer this weekend

Hmmm…this dear friends, is called the recursion trap in programming…we’re stuck in an infinite loop with no exit statement.  Anyway, there’s a great video interview with Sue Decker on Tech|Ticker here with their side of the story.

I’m not going to turn this into a post about speculation.  Yahoo! is still (and always has been) my home page.  Although, I do use the Google search box on my menu bar for all internet searches.  Anyway, in this image there is a list of Yahoo! services that come up when I load my home page.

I’ve put in a thumbs up/down based on my take on them.  So, here’s my summary on all of them (of course this is biased personal opinion based on my usage):

1. Answers - Although there is tons of activity, I’m not sure who is using this.  It does not fullfills our “instant gratification” driven society.  You post a question and await a response…..vs….you Google it and voila….tons of answers.  Moreover, one of the ‘Best Questions’ is “How do I make my apartment smell nice?”….hmmm.
2. Autos - I like Autos.  Although I feel that if they try and make this more like “Top Gear on the web”, they will have a surefire hit on their hands.
3. Finance - Hands down the best freely available comprehenive information.  I do like to indulge in the Message Boards for some great posts like the one posted a minute ago on the YHOO board….”Decker goes to Rehab for nervous laugh”.
4. Games - I’m not an avid gamer but this is a great service for a great market.  They should increase focus on community-based games that allow you to play with everyone else online.
5. Groups - I’m a purist from the Deja.com group days so I defaulted to Google groups since the acquisition.
6. HotJobs - Sure, as good as most other job sites.
7. Maps - Nope.  Google is taking over the Earth…and Moon, Mars and everything else.
8. Mobile Web - Again, great market to be in with a lot of upward mobility.  More apps + services please.
9. Movies - I love movies and I like this service.  It has everything I need, showtimes, trailers, reviews, etc.
10. Music - People love their music and although a “thumbs up”…this could be a lot better.  Some pointers from LastFm - would be nice to have some community features like who’s listening now, listeners also liked <blah>, and the ability to join groups like ‘Die hard fans of Arcade Fire’ or something. 
11. Personals - What?  You don’t offer the 147 degrees of compatibility test….screw this then.
12. Real Estate - Good revamp to this service last year.  Since I’m in the market for a house, I tend to use this from time to time.  Good information but a little outdated.  Good tie into Maps to offer Neighborhood views.
13. Shopping - Amazon has this one covered.
14. Sports - I only follow Football (aka soccer here in the US).  Good coverage….I’m sure the other sports are covered as well.
15. Tech - I like Tech Ticker…..good addition.
16. Travel - A friend turned me on to this.  This is a great service, one stop shop for all travel planning.  A definite thumbs up.
17. TV - Hmmm….who watches TV these days anyway?
18. Yellow Pages - Googling this one too.
19. Buzz - You cannot come up with a version of Digg years later and call it a ‘new’ service.  Sorry.
20. Shine - Only noticed it this morning.  It’s like the Oxygen channel online.  I guess it is a pretty good demographic to go after but you have to figure out a way to attract loyal communities that have already flocked to other sites.

There you have it.  Based on my usage of services that were on my page this morning….I have 11 thumbs up and 8 thumbs down.  Not bad.  And this does not include other services I use that were not on my page (Flickr).