If my posting was light yesterday, it was due to my trip south to Yahoo, where I finally got a chance to speak and speak with the folks there, thanks to the kind invitation of the folks in the Technology Development Group (thanks Chad and Jeremy). Jeremy wrote up my talk here. Very kind.
I really like having the chance to interact with so many smart folks who are deeply engaged in the story of search. It’s an honor.
During the Q&A I was asked about privacy, and issue which is asked by every single audience I’ve ever spoken with, and every single press interview I’ve done in the past three months of the book tour. Yesterday at Yahoo I managed to give my “nightmare scenario” a full public airing, and folks didn’t laugh me off the stage, so my next post will sketch it out in full.
MSN search is openning up its doors for in person contributions from concerned searchers….
http://blogs.msdn.com/msnsearch/archive/2005/11/29/498054.aspx
It would be interesting to read a transcript of Recap of the TALK…
— Comment made on the zawodny Blog:
What is hard to understand is why did Yahoo not put together its own search engine. The directory is a great asset and very relevant, but considering Yahoo’s status and power, why did Yahoo allow AltaVista, Inktomi and Google to default to the organic listings after the directory listings on serps were exhausted.
They waited many years to buy a search engine and develop it – but interestingly enough, unlike Google and MSN they never started one from scratch.
Also why did they chose to buy Inktomi – were there any discussions with ASK / Teoma / Wisenut ???
Inktomi’s SERPs just was nothing spectacular – there was no technological idea innovation – like the others.
Yahoo turned down Ebay, were they also approached initally by Page and Brin – when they were shopping for companies to buy their Search Engine Software???
thanks for the link to your talk. it read very intresting.