Plenty has already been said about Microsoft’s (rejected for now) bid for Yahoo. All I can add is that Yahoo couldn’t absorb Flickr and delicious in any meaningful way since users prefer them as stand alone brands. I doubt Microsoft will do any better with these and the rest of Yahoo’s properties.
On an HR note, remember that just because day jobs feel “safe” doesn’t mean they are. Thousands of people at both Yahoo and Microsoft went from content to terrified in one day. Even more fun, the anxiety will last several unproductive years if a deal happens.
Elsewhere:
2 Comments ↓
I think I’m in the minority group of those who can’t stand Flickr. I find the user experience obtuse and I hate having to sign in every time somebody sends me a link to some photo that’s been marked “friends only.”
Anyway, the MS + Yahoo deal just seems like its going to be a huge mess for users. MS should just stick to getting their core products right…which, I’m not even sure what that means anymore.
Flickr is fine for browsing other people’s photos but I’ve never been a member. A lot of people I know use Picasa for photo sharing.
In any case it seems like Yahoo borged Flickr pretty badly on their own, I can only imagine what MS would do. The only Yahoo service I use is delicious (and the same is true of most techies I know). Hopefully delicious stays classy no matter who owns it.