Son of a Pig Farmer

Tom and I were chatting last night about the respective virtues and shortcomings of Google and Yahoo!. Tom had been a big Yahoo! fan from the late nineties, but for the past couple of years, he’s grown apart from it. Since he got into consulting for a networking firm, he’s been more into the Microsoft stuff for day to day applications (Outlook/Exchange, etc) and Google for search. After our conversation, he’s agreed to switch to Yahoo! for a week. I sure hope that he reports back.

One thing that he really started to hate about Yahoo! was their really unsophisticated visual look, but he said that he really likes the new visual direction, and would really embrace the purple Y! as it’s primary mark. He said it was really sexy.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw this puff piece about Google on 60 Minutes. Google’s a fun place to work. Google’s cafeteria is free and is staffed by the Grateful Dead’s tour chef. Google’s a verb. Google was started out of a garage. Google is full of millionaires and billionaires; none of whom will drive a German luxury car. Google’s founders are in their early thirties and have a net worth larger than the GDP of most third world countries. It had all of the trappings of a Silicon Valley wet dream. Okay, okay, I get it. Google is The Revenge of the Nerds, filed under the Life Imitates Art. Rewind back to 1996, replace the term Google with Netscape, and see if we can detect a pattern. Odds are, however, Google will learn from Netscape’s fate, so it might be nothing but an observation on my part.

Alright, they do search– really, really well. My point is, "Is that enough?" If it is, will it continue to be enough in the future? Some of the really useful things that I’ve seen Google come up with, I’ve seen Yahoo! counter with equal or better offerings.Here are some examples:

More to the point, I would say that Google fails to do one thing that Yahoo! has been doing well since the late nineties. It’s built a relationship with me. I know Google, but does Google know me? To use a crude metaphor, if Google is my hooker, then Yahoo! is my wife. I use Google then throw it away, but I always come home to Yahoo!.

Another issue I have with Google is it’s lack of consistency and brand focus. Google has acquired and created some really interesting product lines (Blogger, Keyhole, Picasa, Orkut, G-mail). Firstly, I’m not quite sure how all of these things fit into an over-arching business strategy that focuses on the needs of it’s users. Secondly, When they acquire these products, how are they absorbed or integrated into the brand. The answer is, "they don’t." They may add a "Powered by Google" tagline or a footer that says "©2005 Google," but, come on, guys. So, when I use one of these super-awesome life-altering products, will I thank Blogger or Google? Yes, it matters. This is that relationship thing I was talking about.

In February of 2004, Yahoo! bought Overture, and Yahoo! Search has improved by leaps and bounds. In an effort to "eat my own dog food" I’ve been forcing myself to use Yahoo! Search instead of Google. I still find myself gravitating toward that box in the upper right hand corner of my Safari browser, stopping myself just in time. In terms of relevance and quality of search results, I’ve got to say that Yahoo! Search is as good (if not better) than Google’s. It will also be there in the morning to make you coffee.

Take the Yahoo! Challenge for a week. If you’re not completly satisfied, I’ll give you your money back. Guarenteed.

Disclaimer: At the time of this writing, the author is a full time, paid employee of Yahoo!

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