Vultures on standby. A new report shows that Yahoo, once the darling of Internet search, has hit a record-low market share of 17.5%. Google, of course, keeps piling it on.
But wait, you say. Help is on its way. The new Microsoft/Yahoo partnership will activate in 2010. True, but this hole is getting deeper with every passing week. The purpose of the new deal was to boost the companies’ combined market share to over 30% from their current 28%. These new numbers are going down, not up.
The only bit of bright news is for Microsoft, not Yahoo. Bing’s market share is now up over 10%, picking up some of Yahoo’s losses. Yahoo’s swan dive into the darkness continued with a 10th consecutive month of losing market share.
It’s hard not to get a nervous feeling around Yahoo. Granted, I run with a dubious crowd — but I see about as much enthusiasm in this world for Yahoo as I do for Zune. It’s not likely that a new marketing campaign will turn things around (especially the one they’re running). These days, when we think of search and innovation, we simply think of Google. In the absence of any world-changing ideas, Yahoo feels like yesterday’s news.
It’s a bit early to file Yahoo away with WordPerfect, Earthlink, Compaq and those other technology stars that once burnt brightly. But, if you’re the type who gets emotional over such things… you might want to get a head start dealing with the trauma.
There seems to be an even split of opinions on whether the Microsoft/ Yahoo agreement is a good thing or a non-thing. I put my vote firmly on the non side. Two reasons. The first is that guy on the right in this photo. He’s a windbag. I believe that when the history of his company is written, Ballmer will be known as the guy who captained the ship to exciting new depths. I honestly can’t understand why the shareholders have been so patient. The second reason is simple common sense.