YouTube versus Yahoo… lost causes…
What does it mean when YouTube pulls ahead of Yahoo! to become the worlds second most used search engine? Does it really mean that visual might just be the way to go?
The 2 sites are quite different from each other. One is a site that has everything you can think of attached to it… Music, Dating, News, Shopping… You name it and it has it. As someone once told me, “jack of all trades… master of nothing”. It’s true. Yahoo is becoming more well known for their secondary attributes then they are for what should have been their greatest achievement… Search Engines. Do a search. You’ll find a lot that MIGHT be relevant to you. The rest is junk. Seriously. Links to do a search for what you’re looking for when you are already doing a search on it… Confused and a little dizzy with that? Me too.
There are a lot of people out there that find that searching through Yahoo’s search engine is exhausting. The options are close to limitless on Yahoo. Searching through the garbage that is there will only cause headaches and the occasional feeling to throw your computer.
The other is a video based site. That’s it. Nothing else. Video. Does that mean that one is outdated? Possibly. Which one though? Seriously sit down and watch YouTube. Push through the grainy screens and the partial video clips and see it for what it really is… a website where Joe Schmo can post his most interesting video of his dog barking while sitting in his underwear and search for the same thing. Aside from some of the hilarity and the occasional OS clips that you can find on YouTube there is really nothing of substance there that can push this site to the next level. UNLESS it upgrades itself. Keeping up with The Jones’ as they say in my neck of the city woods. You have virtually unknown sites that are far superior in content and imaging… like hulu. Why watch 2nd rate video from a cell phone when you can watch full length movies and shows in HD?
Remember though, it’s all about preferences. YouTube is personal. Yahoo! seems informative. That’s not to say that one isn’t the other but depending on what you’re looking for, neither may be a better fit for you.
Not to put down Yahoo!. They have been in business over a decade. For a company to thrive that long in an industry that is ever changing is amazing. However, when you are laying off your staff and constantly reminded of the imperfections with your site and searches, one tends to wonder where this might end for Yahoo.
Why is it that people are searching YouTube over Yahoo? Why the shift? You can basically find anything you want to on both. However, why pass up using Google (which by the way, is the #1 search engine out there AND the ever dominant parent of YouTube) for your search? You’re almost guaranteed to find what you need. It’s better by leaps and bounds over MSN and Yahoo…
Face it… everyone is different. If there is something visually appealing to me, that is the first thing that I will focus on. I am a visual learner. It captures my attention like a moth to a flame. Of course I’m going to share it if it’s worth it. I think “Well, if I liked it, then surely Joe-Bob will too!” and the flame continues to grow. There also seems to be no end to what you can watch on YouTube thanks to the ease of uploading content. Old television shows and new ones. Commercials. Satire. Performances of literary works and even your children’s recitals are easily accessible on YouTube. It’s your new VHS cabinet. What, visually, can’t you find?
So really… are they both worth it? Probably not. They are aging dinosaurs in the changing and upgrading world. I don’t forsee Yahoo improving any time soon. They are at the end of their life and YouTube is just a click away.