Yahoo builds a browser, and people actually like it

Yahoo has made a lot of big mistakes over the years, and today it finds itself in the fight of its life to stay relevant on the modern web.

The big questions: what can Yahoo do to recapture some of its past glory, if anything at all?

One possible answer is so obvious that nobody thought of it earlier: build a browser.

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Posted 24 May 2012 16:14pm by Patricio Robles with 2 comments

Google passed on opportunity to buy Twitter: report

Google+ may or may not be a viable contender in the social networking space, but Google sure is committed to it.

How committed? According to venture capitalist Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, which owns a stake in Twitter, Google's passed up the opportunity to buy the popular microblogging social network several years ago.

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Posted 22 May 2012 09:21am by Patricio Robles with 0 comments

Microsoft launches a new social network, but why?

When it comes to large tech companies and how they've fared with social networking, one could argue that Microsoft is the most successful.

Google has struggled to build viable homegrown social networks, Yahoo has largely done little of note, AOL purchased Bebo for $850m only to drive it into the ground, etc.

Microsoft's claim to success in the social space? A $240m investment in Facebook in 2007 which valued the social network at $15bn.

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Posted 21 May 2012 17:00pm by Patricio Robles with 4 comments

Yahoo's ten biggest mistakes

The resignation/termination of now-formerly new Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson amid a resume scandal was an embarrassing moment for the once-great internet giant.

For most companies, such a collosal blunder would represent a faux pas of the highest order, but that's not the case for Yahoo, it's just one more in a long line of mistakes. 

Here are the ten biggest mistakes the company has made...

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Posted 17 May 2012 13:48pm by Patricio Robles with 5 comments

Yahoo CEO resigns amid resume scandal

When Scott Thompson decided to leave his post as President of PayPal to join Yahoo as CEO, it reportedly came as a shock to eBay CEO John Donahoe.

And it was a surprising move according to some industry observers.

After all, Thompson was ditching Ebay's fastest growing division to join a company that has been in decline.

It's a decision Thompson may regret for a long time.

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Posted 14 May 2012 15:52pm by Patricio Robles with 0 comments

Angry shareholders lash out at Yahoo, Nokia

Facebook employees and investors are set to cash in when the world's largest social network goes public later this month, but life at a public company isn't always easy.

Just ask the executives at Nokia and Yahoo.

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Posted 04 May 2012 18:36pm by Patricio Robles with 0 comments

Yahoo launches dashboard for small businesses

Yahoo may be putting 50 of its properties on the chopping block as new CEO Scott Thompson looks to make the once-dominant internet portal a little leaner and more nimble, but apparently small businesses are important enough to Yahoo that it will create new products.

Today, Yahoo did just that by launching an online dashboard designed specifically for small businesses.

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Posted 02 May 2012 17:25pm by Patricio Robles with 4 comments

The incredible shrinking Yahoo: infographic

Yahoo’s fall from grace is well documented, with its once dominant position in the search industry undermined by years of mismanagement.

New CEO Scott Thompson has a major task on his hands reversing the company’s declining fortunes, with his plans currently focused on boosting ad revenues and forging a closer alliance with Microsoft.

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Posted 25 April 2012 13:03pm by David Moth with 2 comments

Facebook spends $550m on Microsoft patents

That didn't take long. Just two weeks after Microsoft announced that it had purchased a major collection of patents from AOL for $1bn, Microsoft has turned around and sold 650 patents to Facebook, which is being sued by Yahoo for patent infringment.

Microsoft will retain a license to the patents, and as part of the $550m deal, Facebook will also receive licenses for AOL patents that Microsoft did not offer up for sale.

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Posted 23 April 2012 21:55pm by Patricio Robles with 0 comments

Alibaba.com focuses on quality, sees net profits drop 25%

Doing the right thing long-term isn't always easy for companies. Just ask Alibaba.com, China's ecommerce giant.

Last quarter, the company made some strategic changes to its business model, and focused in on improving the quality of its marketplace. The result: slower growth which, combined with higher expenses, contributed to a 25% drop in net profit.

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Posted 23 April 2012 16:53pm by Patricio Robles with 1 comment