Yahoo’s CEO Disses Google

By Mark Evans
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

Yahoo CEO Terry Semel pulled no punches yesterday at the Web 2.0 conference when he said Google doesn’t “seem to have a plan”. Given Semel is media savvy, the question is what was he trying to achieve by dissing Google so publicly. Is Yahoo simply frustrated Google gets so much attention for things such as sponsoring Wi-Fi sites in San Francisco? Maybe Yahoo has decided to finally throw down the gauntlet as Google emerges as its biggest rival for online advertising business.

Our Take: Semel does raise a valid point about Google’s focus. Other than search, Google seems to be scattered strategically. The company has dipped its toes in a variety of markets (e-mail, photo editing, blogging, comparative shopping, social networking) with little financial success to show for it. Then again, when you have an advertising cash-cow kicking off loads of cash, you have the luxury of trying different tactics without worrying about failure. That said, Google will soon have to deal with the reality its AdSense business will start to see slower growth, which will prompt investors to look for something else to justify the company’s lofty valuation. With $7 billion in the bank, Google has the financial clout to make a major move. Maybe it will be a national network with thousands of Wi-Fi locations or maybe it will be a big acquisition (Amazon.com?) So far, Google hasn’t give much indication of where it’s going but it will be interesting to see how management responds to Semel’s shot across the bow.

About Me: (Given this is my first post for Real Tech News, I should introduce myself. I’m a technology reporter with the National Post, which is one of Canada’s two national newspapers. I’ve also been writing a blog - evans.blogware.com - on telecom and technology since March 2004. If you’re looking for a cure for insomnia, you may want to check out a book I co-wrote in 2001 called Investrends: The High-Tech Economy, which looked at how to invest in dot-com stocks. Given it came out just after the bubble burst, let’s just say sales were far from robust.)