Comments on: Comments on 3057

Post number 3057

mathowie — Wed, 30 Aug 2000 09:05:42 -0800

Yahoo now has a PayPal-style service. What is Yahoo not doing these days? And how does this relate to them being a media company? They've got the directory, bill payment, auctions, bookmarks, and a music player, among their many offerings. It seems like they've copied many major internet applications and put them in one place. Are they the "Microsoft" of the web in terms of innovation?

By: dandot

dandot — Wed, 30 Aug 2000 09:12:29 -0800

I wish Yahoo would focus on why are here in the first place: their directory. I've submitted my personal site three times, and it's still not listed. Who do I have to sleep with to get a listing?

By: owillis

owillis — Wed, 30 Aug 2000 09:31:38 -0800

Yahoo is following the MS strategy to a tee. They either buy the company providing the service, or do it themselves.

By: tsitzlar

tsitzlar — Wed, 30 Aug 2000 09:38:39 -0800

Yes, but generally speaking, I have found Yahoo!'s services to be better than the internet app they are copying. For instance, as a buyer, I much prefer Yahoo's auctions to Ebays (much easier to find things), and this new payment service has a really cool feature I haven't seen before: Identity Confirmation The "Identity Confirmation" feature provides added security if you are unsure of a person's email address. An email will be sent to the recipient asking them to answer a question (specified by you) to prove their identity. The answer will be returned to you. You can then accept the response (and the money will be sent), or you can decline (and the transaction will be cancelled). Besides, all the services work on my Sprint PCS phone, so what more could I ask for? Now I can pay my bills by phone! (Oh, wait, couldn't we do that before? )

By: msippey

msippey — Wed, 30 Aug 2000 09:40:27 -0800

why should they focus on the directory, except for nostalgia's sake? their strategy is to have yahoo be a single destination not only for content, but also for tools -- and they're doing a good job of it. their apps are integrated (at least more integrated than most other providers), and it's that integration that makes 'em stickier than other sites. and they're pushing that sticky integration down out of the browser and on to the desktop (used yahoo messenger lately? it has some very interesting functionality) and into the device (yahoo via wap, yahoo via palm vii, yahoo via omnisky).

By: lockecito

lockecito — Wed, 30 Aug 2000 09:46:51 -0800

What happened to Yahoo Phonebooth? You used to be able to go to phonebooth.yahoo.com and find the cheapest 10-10-nnn number to call from a point in the US to a specified international location. As I'm an American expat in Argentina, my mom found this a very useful service. Now they just have a link to net2phone. Anyone know of a good price comparison engine for 10-10-nnn numbers?

By: frykitty

frykitty — Wed, 30 Aug 2000 09:49:42 -0800

The apps themselves are usually quite good, when they're up. Messenger is one of the few things that is reliable. I finally gave up and transferred my e-mail. And customer service...don't get me started. Yes, they're doing a great job of being a one-stop web center, but they need to concentrate on infrastructure as well. I understand their rush, but I question their readiness.

By: smackfu

smackfu — Wed, 30 Aug 2000 10:34:59 -0800

Well, I like only needing one login. Plus yahoo is probably going to be around for awhile and not merge or go under. And they seem to do a good job of stealing any innovative features that their competitors dream up. Sure it sucks for the competition, but it's a win for the consumer. As far as the directory... don't most people just use google for that?

By: holgate

holgate — Wed, 30 Aug 2000 10:58:02 -0800

It's interesting that these new "breakthrough" services are the ones which prove that the net isn't that global after all. My Visa card may be accepted in the US, but not by PayPal or Yahoo Wallet.

By: briandame

briandame — Wed, 30 Aug 2000 11:01:09 -0800

Yahoo is following the MS strategy to a tee. They either buy the company providing the service, or do it themselves. Is there another way?

By: dhartung

dhartung — Wed, 30 Aug 2000 12:48:36 -0800

1010phonerates.com seems to have what you're looking for, lockecito. I imagine they had a content-repurposing license of some kind that expired. Just like now you can't get regional news at My Yahoo anymore. Even though it was just a barely-adequate headline/slug listing of e.g. "Wisconsin Headlines", with one or two always duplicated over in the full story section because it was getting national play anyway, I used it. Bzzt.

By: delfuego

delfuego — Wed, 30 Aug 2000 16:23:33 -0800

Well, I like only needing one login. Plus [this company] is probably going to be around for awhile and not merge or go under. And they seem to do a good job of stealing any innovative features that their competitors dream up. Sure it sucks for the competition, but it's a win for the consumer. My biggest problem with the computer world writ large: fill in [this company] with "Microsoft", and you get reamed for making this statement, but fill it in with any other company (as smackfu did with "Yahoo"), and nobody blinks an eye. Smacks of disparate treatment.

By: wiremommy

wiremommy — Wed, 30 Aug 2000 16:58:15 -0800

Smackfu may choose Yahoo for their MS-like qualities, Delfuego, but many of us avoid using Yahoo for the same reasons. I hate their auctions, their email service and most of the other copied features on their site. I use the maps and I'm in a couple of Yahoo Clubs, but otherwise I stay away from them; they may have a little bit of everything, but they have nothing to offer me.

By: baylink

baylink — Wed, 30 Aug 2000 17:55:22 -0800

BTW, Matt: you forgot the magazine.

By: Dreama

Dreama — Fri, 01 Sep 2000 16:53:47 -0800

With the Yahooification of eGroups (coming) and WebRing (started today in a big way) I fear what will happen if they continue taking over all of the webapps and services that catch their fancy. What will be next?