An Analysis of Yahoo!

Yahoo! is a well-known technology company, made popular for its search engine, web portal, and additional features such as Yahoo! Directory and Yahoo! Mail. Globally, Yahoo! is the fifth most visited website, as of October 2015 and remains one of the most popular websites in the United States (alexa.com). Created by Jerry Yang and David Filo in 1994, Yahoo! was created as a directory of other websites, organized into a hierarchy. Over time, it grew to be more than a search engine. Yahoo! has expanded into several platforms, including communication (Yahoo! Messanger, Yahoo! Mail), content (Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo! News, etc), commerce, and advertising. This leads to the question, what makes Yahoo! and these services so popular? This analysis will look at the characteristics of Yahoo!, its features, users, and the impact that Yahoo! has had on users and society.   

Characteristics of the Users of the System

Adam Read, a data analyst for the digital marketing company Further, used their analytics data, which came from a variety of websites around the globe, to break down demographics of Bing, Yahoo! and Google users. According to their data, Yahoo! users are most likely mature women. They are into art and theatre, do-it-yourself projects, bargain hunting, and thrill seeking (Read, 2015). 

Further’s analytics also revealed that Yahoo! users are more likely to use Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer than Google or Bing users. They are also most likely to access Yahoo! from a desktop computer, being the most active on Saturdays and Sundays (Read, 2015).  ComScore also found that Yahoo! users spend 6.8 percent more in their online shopping than Google users (Gagnon, 2014). 

Features and Usage of the System

Yahoo! has many distinct and unique features. This essay will look at five of its users most preferred services on Yahoo!, including its web portal, search engine, yahoo finance, yahoo answers, and yahoo mail. 

When a user first arrives at yahoo.com, they will find several options available to them. News stories are featured prominently on the homepage, with a search bar at the top of the screen. Other Yahoo! applications, such as mail, news, and sports are featured on the left hand side. Trending stories are on the right. Accessing the web portal simply requires the user to go to yahoo.com. From there, the user can use Yahoo! for any of their internet needs. 

Yahoo’s search engine is also extremely popular and user friendly. Found at the top of the web portal homepage, the search engine is easily accessible. Users simply type in the search box what they would like information on. For example, if a user wanted information about Hawaii, they would simply type “Hawaii” into the search bar. Then they could hit enter, or the search button. The first items to appear are advertisements related to Hawaii, and planning a vacation. If the user is not interested in a Hawaiian vacation, they simply scroll down to find the information that they are looking for. Choices include images, maps, videos, information about the islands, travel guides, and history. At the bottom of the page, there are more advertisements related to Hawaii, and Yahoo! also includes suggestions to help modify or narrow down a user’s search. 

When a user types into the search bar, Yahoo! Search Technology scans through a database. The search technology is looking for key words and that match the search query. If a web page is deemed relevant, it will be revealed in the search results. The most relevant web pages appear at the top. Relevance is determined by key document features, such as key words, accuracy, associated links, and sources (Wall, 2006). Knowing how the search engine works allows users to be more precise in their searches and find the information that they are looking for. 

Yahoo! Finance is another popular service offered by Yahoo!. To access it, a user simply clicks on the finance icon on the left hand side of the home screen. From there, they are taken to a finance home screen. Users can access their portfolio (which is connected to their Yahoo! mail information), quotes, and market information. Stock Exchange information is at the top of the screen. Top financial news, market news, and personal finance news stories are all available to be read. Users can also search specifically within the financial page. Yahoo! Finance provides information about personal and business finance, along with Wall Street and market data. 

Yahoo! Answers attracts thousands of users on a regular basis. This feature relies on the users to fulfill several roles. Users must both contribute, either by asking or answering questions, and they must be consumers, meaning that they search, look for similar questions, and read the information other users have provided. The Yahoo! Answers home page features select questions and their answers. It also displays several categories on the left hand side that help narrow a user’s search. The broad range of categories creates a broad range of user data. As Lada Adamic, Jun Zhang, Eytan Bakshy and Mark Ackerman (2008, para 1) note: “While interactions in some categories resemble expertise sharing forums, others incorporate discussion, everyday advice, and support. With such a diversity of categories in which one can participate, we find that some users focus narrowly on specific topics, while others participate across categories.” Yahoo! Answers compiles user’s questions and answers in an easy to search format, providing an alternative to traditional web search engines. 

The final feature that this paper will analyze is Yahoo! Mail. Yahoo! Mail has many of its own features, including the inbox, search function, composing messages, calendar, contacts, and security. Yahoo! Mail works with the Yahoo! web portal, and is easily accessed from yahoo.com. From the inbox, the user has access to several tools. The user can search their inbox for old messages, or instant message a contact. Users also have access to a calendar and notepad. Yahoo! allows users to easily switch between these tools by using a tabs function. Yahoo! also allows users to personalize their inbox by customizing the layout, sorting and viewing of messages. When composing an email, users are prompted to include contacts via suggestions. Yahoo! is integrated with Dropbox and Flickr to make sending files simpler. When a user takes advantage of these functions, they can send and receive emails, documents, pictures, and links, which include a preview of the web page. 

Impact of the System

Yahoo! has undoubtedly been influential in shaping email and search functions over the last 20 years. Yahoo! has grown from its beginning as a web search mechanism to its current state as a leader in global daily habits. This growth shows not only the need, but also a want by its users for the product that Yahoo! produces.

Yahoo! and its many functionalities have impacted society by making information easily and instantly accessible. Email saves time and money, compared to making a phone call, or writing a letter and driving to the post office. In an office environment, email allows you to communicate with coworkers without leaving your desk, keeping you focused on the task at hand. 

Having a global database of websites to pull from makes finding information much faster and simpler. Prior to Yahoo! or other search engines, a user would have needed to make a phone call, or visit the library to find the information they can now find on their computer, phone, or tablet.

While the time saving and money saving benefits of these services are obvious, there are also negative impacts of Yahoo!. Having so much information at your fingertips can have unintended consequences, such as not visiting the library and relying on virtual interaction.

When users can find all the information that they need for a research topic, or buy books (hard copy and ebooks) without ever leaving their home, they miss out on the benefits of community. Working on a paper at the library can be inspiring. It can also be helpful in finding more sources and more variety than what a search engine would produce. Selecting and borrowing books from the library also teaches timeliness, responsibility, and thinking of others. It is your responsibility to return books on time and keep them in good condition for the next person to use. Many libraries also have community programs that you would not know about unless you went to one. 

Another potential negative affect of Yahoo! is the tendency to rely on virtual interaction, instead of socializing face to face. Yahoo! Answers allows users to state their opinions on a variety of topics. When social interaction occurs through the internet instead of in person, users are more likely to create arguments. Products like Yahoo! Messenger also allow for users to have entire conversations without meeting. It’s easy for users to say too much, or say the wrong thing. Online communication should not be a substitute for in person social interactions. 

Conclusion

Yahoo! is now the world’s largest start-up corporation. What began as a means of finding information quickly through a search engine has now become an online platform for social media, news, weather, finances, email, and more. The convenience and simplicity of the products keep users coming back. Ever growing and searching for ways to improve and innovate, Yahoo! continues to simplify the lives of users through their products and services.

References

Adamic, L., Zhang, J., Bakshy, E., & Ackerman, M. (2008). Knowledge sharing and yahoo answers:everyone knows something. Retrieved from http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1367587

Gagnon, J. (2014). Yahoo bing network audience stats that might surprise you. Search Engine Watch. Retrieved from http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2378009/yahoo-bing-network-audience-stats-that-might-surprise-you 

Read, A (2015). Who, what and when?- Profiling google, yahoo, and bing search demographics. Retrieved from https://www.further.co.uk/blog/who-what-and-when-profiling-google-yahoo-and-bing-search-demographics/

Wall, A. (2006). How search engines work: Search engine relevancy reviewed. SEOBook. retrieved from  http://www.seobook.com/relevancy/#yahoo

Yahoo.com site info. (n.d.) Retrieved from www.Alexa.com.