Earlier this morning, Microsoft proposed a bid of $44 Million to Yahoo. In otherwords, Microsoft may buy Yahoo. This brings up a number of concerns for myself and others. What will happen to those Yahoo! services we love, like Flickr and del.icio.us? What kinds of “cultural” changes would Microsoft push (for more about culture, head over to Whitney Hoffman’s blog)?
Microsoft has historically had success based on engineering innovation, not usability for the user or the design of the product. I don’t enjoy the way engineers think – they only seem to care about the machine, not the person. Their products are clunky (for evidence, just look at the 1st Gen Zune). For years now, Microsoft has been trying to create a vibrant online community, dubbed “Live.” They’ve failed – it’s costing them more money than they’re getting from it. Their “Live” service can’t compete with Google. I’m happy to report I don’t use any Microsoft products!
Yahoo! has been in a touch place, also competing with Google. They too seem to be based on engineering. Their designs are also cumbersome, search pages blast the viewer with information and too many options. Yahoo! has had success with their Mail and their search, but they’ve yet to develop a suite of original web services. The only two Yahoo! services I use are Flickr and del.icio.us, neither of which are designed by Yahoo!. I love both of these services.
The Two United
Together, I don’t think Microsoft and Yahoo will be able to “hit it big” – their philosophies are fundamentally flawed.
Microsoft and Yahoo may do things differently, but the cultural DNA, as seen from the outside, leads me to suspect everything will be more of the same, middle of the road, “good enough” products, but nothing that will surprise and delight. And that’s really too bad for both companies in the end. (Whitney Hoffman)
All I care about right now, what I’ll be watching closely, is the development/demise of Flickr and del.icio.us.
Tell me what you think.
Kabren Levinson is fist-year student at Bard College. Throughout high school, Kabren has worked in various technological, political, and artistic positions. He has worked as an intern at the MIT Media Lab Computing Culture Group and during his senior year of high school, he developed an Academic Technology program at the Cambridge School of Weston. He has been podcasting for over three years and has been blogging for two. Kabren is a philosopher, technologist, and artist.