Yahoo! to the Max

Citation

Paul, J. (2006), "Yahoo! to the Max", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 40 No. 2, pp. 190-191. https://doi.org/10.1108/00330330610669307

Randolph Hock's Yahoo! to the Max is a beginner's guide to getting the most from the Yahoo! web site. The book's systematic approach gives the reader a clear and basic understanding of the various features of Yahoo! Hock provides an overview of the features of Yahoo! and highlights the value of a content‐rich Web portal often known as a super‐directory as against Google's super‐search engine.

But Yahoo!'s search engine has its unique features. Hock notes that Yahoo!'s search facility offers users specialised databases for images, businesses, phone numbers, news, products and maps. Specifically, Yahoo! has a search engine for online movies and a search engine engineered to find and index public domain content (or “Creative Commons” at http://search.yahoo.com/cc). Yahoo!'s Flickr, an image organising application, is as sophisticated as Google's Picasa. Additionally, Yahoo!'s placing of live traffic conditions on its map is far more impressive than Google Maps.

One under‐utilised function in Yahoo! is the Yahoo! Directory. It serves as a useful browser of deep well content on the web. The author notes that the directory can be particularly helpful when the user is unfamiliar with the search process or uncertain of the subject area. Another advantage of the Yahoo! directory is that it contains about two million sites, much less than the three billion or so pages in the Yahoo! web search database. This is because Yahoo!'s directory often lists only the home page of a site, while its search engine lists multiple pages in a single site. Thus, Yahoo!'s directory makes it easier for the user to narrow down the search process to more precise listings. Hock stresses that the secret to getting the most out of Yahoo! is to explore and click everywhere to see where it leads.

A general Web portal, where it is possible for the user to personalise the home page, is very useful and convenient. According to Hock, portals like Excite, Lycos, Netscape and others have paled in comparison to Yahoo! in offering a wide range of easily accessible resources with a more personalised feel. My Yahoo! is able to integrate a broad variety of services and consolidate them on a single page, while providing quick access to Yahoo! Mail, Chatrooms, News, the Yahoo! Calendar and other services. The author reminds the reader that when personalising My Yahoo! it is important to determine the modules which are important and use the Edit function to customise the modules in order of preference.

Hock expounds on two other features in Yahoo!: Yahoo! Groups and Yahoo! News. There are two benefits of Yahoo! Groups. First, they serve as an online meeting place for exchanging information and engaging in discussions. Second, they provide access to a broad database of advice and commentary. The author highlights the different types of group and the possibility of starting one. Yahoo! News on the other hand delivers news through many channels such as My Yahoo! Yahoo! Financial, Yahoo! Sports, etc. from more than 7000 sources in 35 languages. According to Hock, the strength of Yahoo! News is found in three areas: the News home page with the day's headlines, the News search engine and the News alert service. He adds that most country versions of Yahoo! have a News home page similar to the main Yahoo! News page. Hence, the stories in the local versions are usually more relevant to the particular region or country than those on the main Yahoo!.

The author describes Yahoo! as “The Great Communicator”. With Yahoo! Mail, Messenger, Message Boards, Chat, Geocities, and Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! provides a variety of ways for people to interact and exchange information online. With this means of communication, it is thus possible to buy and sell items through Yahoo! For shoppers, there are three main places to purchase items: Yahoo! Shopping, Yahoo! Classifieds! and Yahoo! Auctions. The author gives further details from how to search for a particular product, to bidding and selling items on Yahoo! Auctions. Yahoo! Classifieds on the other hand, offers items at a fixed price. There are strict rules and regulations on the availability of products and items on Yahoo! Classifieds. Hence, forbidden items such as fireworks and explosives, body parts, illegal or stolen goods, etc cannot be found on the site.

Hock observes that the section has a comprehensive range of resources and features including consumer finance and money management tools. For more extensive information, click onto the Yahoo! Finance home page at http://finance.yahoo.com/. The site has more than a dozen links to “Centres” such as Today's Markets, Stock Research, Financial News, etc. However, some of the information on the home page and in the Centres may carry a price tag.

Yahoo! To The Max argues that Yahoo! offers in style what its competitors can hardly satisfy – and this it does with great transparency. Yahoo! publishes its papers, discloses the names of its researchers and their future plans. Amongst its latest offerings to users include Research.yahoo.com, which is similar to labs.google.com. It has recently acquired the blogging software Yahoo! 360, responding to Google's purchase of Blogger. Whilst Yahoo! does not seek to be a first mover, it certainly does pay attention to the quality of the experience it offers to its customers. Yahoo!'s mobile search tool is by far the most sophisticated and integrated with its desktop client. It gives quick bytes of information with shortcuts that are stored on Yahoo!'s desktop by the users. If this was not enough, it has introduced its Internet telephony, which is better than Skype. It is often said that Google's strength is due to the simplicity of the user interface, quality of its search results, leading‐edge research and prototypes, and the interfaces (Application Programme Interface or API) it provides for other programs to integrate. Yahoo!'s strength is not its product alone, but its winning attitude. Yahoo! has shown great resilience in being able to continuously change, augment its existing offerings and take on new competitors. If you have not yet discovered Yahoo!, Yahoo! To The Max should be your best pick.