This is the long Yahoo strategy post that I don’t have time for today. Instead, it’s now become the 45-second Yahoo strategy post!
A lot of people don’t have time for Yahoo anymore, so that’s probably about right. Yahoo’s situation has been dire for many years, yet the company has bumped along at about the same size for so long, it’s easy to lose sight of the need to do something dramatic to change its fortunes.
Here’s what Yahoo should do:
- Acquire Yelp
- Then, divest every last shred of its “content” and old-media-world functionality to a major media conglomerate. Some revenue stream from licensing and revenue shares, plus a small stake in the parent media company, should be retained.
- Move any stray pieces to Microsoft. Maintain relationship with Microsoft if it will assist in areas like mapping, etc.
- Develop a plan to migrate any and all uses of its mediocre, disparate services to a future architecture with a unified, robust user ID.
- Then, acquire OpenTable
- Then, acquire FourSquare
- Build a new company laser-focused on mobile and local functionality.
- Find and/or build important technology that is way more useful and important than Summly. Summly? Come on, guys!
- Rename the company to something like “Yelp”.
Yahoo investors, you’ve been warned. It will be a bumpy ride, but total reinvention is the only way to make Yahoo relevant again.