March 31, 2006

Yahoo Buys Web 2.0

Yahoo is tired of buying Web 2.0 companies one at a time. They just want tje whole package.

"We're in the midst of buying Dogg (a Web 2.0 cross between Digg and Dogster "Where Every Dog Has A Webpage"), and you know what? It's a lot of work. Buying up Web 2.0 companies here and there in piecemeal fashion gets old after a while.

It's a lot of work on our Corporate Development team, the Public Relations team, and really isn't that efficient.

So after some long discussions with Tim O'Reilly, Michael Arrington, and other Web 2.0 experts, we've decided to just buy Web 2.0.

All of it. All the people, the round cornered boxes, crazy business ideas, and pastel colors." (Yahoo Search Blog)

So if you want to be a Yahoo company, just create a Web 2.0 startup and you'll automatically be a part of Yahoo's big family.

Read some great tips to create a Web 2.0 site:

"If the name of your app isn't short and catchy, it won't take off. Try recording yourself reading paragraphs from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, then play the audio backwards, slowly, for inspiration.

Make access to the app invite-only, but don't actually invite anyone. Nothing creates more desire for a product than its exclusivity. If no-one has it, everyone will want it. Simple!

Ask an A-list blogger to review your app (linking to your own "review", so that you drive traffic to both your web app and the site that reviews it). While it's unlikely that they'll do so without actually logging in and trying out your app for real, they might change their tune if you offer them some kind of incentive. Send them some Photoshopped screenshots showing tag clouds and images of your app in use, and blame your data centre for the server being down -- the perfect excuse for why they can't login just now. Then promise them 20% of your profit when you sell the app to Yahoo! Negotiate as required -- everyone has their price."

Related:
Yahoo buys a company before its foundation
Google acquires Writely
The best Web 2.0 software of 2005
Just what is Web 2.0?

No comments: