aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Monday, September 26, 2005

Yahoo!

Yahoo! wants to be a media company that mixes content with distribution. They’ve got Lloyd Braun, formerly chairman of ABC’s entertainment group, to do it:

“I come from a medium which allows you to represent a pretty static linear picture,” Mr. Braun said. “It’s very passive.” At Yahoo, he does not plan any half-hour or hourlong programs, but shorter segments that users can assemble into longer experiences of their own choosing.

The Internet reflects what Mr. Braun calls “the A.D.D. generation,” where people watch TV, read something online, chat on a cellphone and send instant messages - all at the same time. He talks of short, frequent video segments, surrounded by other information that users can interact with in their own way and contribute to as well.

One of Yahoo’s secret weapons, Mr. Braun says, is that it can personalize information for the interests of each user, such as its My Yahoo page and the song recommendations provided to users of its music service. Mr. Braun is weaving this technology into a video player Yahoo will introduce near the end of the year.

“It will almost be like a television set,” Mr. Braun said, except as people watch one program, on the center of the player, other areas will offer additional programming choices, based on their past viewing habits. It will let them use Yahoo’s video search to find programs from amateur videographers and video bloggers. And it will, of course, promote the glitzy shows Mr. Braun is creating.

“People want the freedom to do exactly what they want to do,” he said. “But they also like to be programmed to and reminded of the different things that exist. Yahoo is in a position to do both of those.”

That’s the first I’ve heard of the video player. I’ll be interested to see how it develops. As to their business strategy, I’m glad to see user created content featured in their four pillars:

First, is search, of course, to fend off Google, which has become the fastest-growing Internet company. Next comes community, as he calls the vast growth of content contributed by everyday users and semiprofessionals like bloggers. Third, is the professionally created content that Mr. Braun oversees, made both by Yahoo and other traditional media providers. And last, is personalization technology to help users sort through vast choices to find what interests them.

Yahooo! should buy Current and relegate the cable channel to nothing more than one big ad for the real deal, the website.

RELATED: Yahoo! hired nine financial writers.