Yahoo! axes 600 jobs

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Yahoo! is dying and started dying when they refused a very generous takeover offer from Microsoft. They've closed Yahoo! Auctions, Geocities, briefcase and a whole lot of other services, instead of attempting to monetize them; Yahoo! Auctions was a serious competitor to ebay.

With both Google and Microsoft offering free IMAP/POP access to Webmail accounts, yahoo mail is looking jaded and outdated. Google's googletalkplugin allows users to audio/video chat with other gmail users, even in linux and firefox. This means I stopped using Yahoo's IM a long time back (using Skype in the intermediate period before talk plugin became available).

They've even given up on their core search technology.

Yahoo! is going the way of AOL. Once a powerhouse, now reduced to a shell of it's former glory. You cannot cut services and expect business to expand, especially when all the world is out expanding options for users. Yahoo! has to intelligently monetize, which they seem incapable of doing, and hence are headed the way of the dodo.

Everything that Yahoo! is doing seems to be done better elsewhere. Personally, I believe that Yahoo! is simply living on dole. They cannot even think of ways to reward user loyalty (eg, Google's AdSense free credits) and so their user base is effectively being leached away, slowly but surely.

Their much-hyped "local search" efforts are just as surely going down the toilet, because they seem to be incapable of selecting suitable and/or capable partners, who can deliver solutions and advice and help expand business for local businesses.

In my opinion, using Yahoo!'s services are currently akin to floating along on an ocean on a rapidly melting ice-floe. It's gonna let you down, and you should be able to see it coming.

"are part of our ongoing strategy to best position Yahoo for revenue growth"

She has been criticized for having a poor relationship with the management of Alibaba, of which Yahoo! owns almost 40% of the China-based firm. Some have speculated that this stake may be worth USD$10-billion and argue Yahoo! should sell it.

Bartz could have sold a few of these shares and given 600 people a happier Christmas.

Back in October Carol Bartz was supposed to be fired this week, this month, or later this year, according to a number of media outlets. Maybe this her move for job preservation - hers?

Long live Flickr

....let's hope.