randle - 2:29 am on Jan 25, 2006 (gmt 0)

Algorithmic search has been nothing but a tin can tied to their tails. Every time they turn around someone’s yapping at them about how bad it is. They have never been able to move on from the mind set of having a hand edited directory, where every webmaster was absolutely scared to death to run afoul of them. The move to a true index, based on an algorithm, devoid of hand editing, is something they just have not been able to master, and they don’t need to.

This person has simply stated the obvious, plain truth about the whole situation. People are still going to flock to Yahoo, and they will still be a total money making machine. They would probably love to just be able to ditch the whole thing and just go back to having the directory. The results would be a hell of a lot better that’s for sure.

It’s really not a big deal, and their position for pure search, relative to Google is definitely not news. Admitting it yes, but the fact has been, and remains so, and if you really think about it, trying to catch Google is just an unprofitable goal. I think the honesty is totally refreshing and they should get a lot of credit for it. If they put the money they keep investing in an algorithmic search engine, into other things, they would make more money, and the stock holders would be happier.