“Tengo una reacción ante eso como defensor de los consumidores y como anunciante. ¿Qué te puede hacer pensar, en nombre del cielo, que yo podría querer rentabilizar el lugar donde alguien está rompiendo con su novia?”.

“Cuando decimos entorno de medios generado por el consumidor, en realidad estamos siendo predatorios. ¿Quién dice que eso es un medio? Medio es algo que puedes comprar y vender. Los medios tienen inventario, espacios vacíos. Los consumidores no están tratando de generar medios. Están tratando de hablar con alguien. Por lo tanto suena un tanto arrogante. Estamos secuestrando sus conversaciones, sus pensamientos y sentimientos y tratando de rentabilizarlos”.

“El targenting es fantástico. Puedes hacer cosas increíbles, pero no estoy seguro de que a mí me gustase ser tratado así como consumidor”.

La compañía reconoce que se quiere centrar en las búsquedas, anuncios y aplicaciones de negocios:

 It has been a tough decision, but we want to ensure that we prioritize our resources and focus more on our core search, ads and apps business. Lively.com will be discontinued at the end of December, and everyone who has worked on the project will then move on to other teams.

1. Aborted Projects
Yahoo! is rife with projects that have been started, with great fanfare, only to die quietly months, sometimes years, later.

2. Missing the Google Express 
Yahoo! had the chance to buy Google in 2002. Then-Chief Executive Terry Semel reportedly balked at the $5 billion price after months of negotiation. In retrospect, that was clearly a mistake.

3. Hiring Terry Semel 
Another commonly cited mistake: hiring former Warner Bros. studio honcho Terry Semel as chief executive. Yahoo! stumbled in the wake of the tech bust early in the decade. It brought in Semel to turn things around. In retrospect, however, Semel was just riding a powerful rebound that other managers, such as the boys at Google, were playing far more skillfully. Semel declined to buy Google; at the same time, he funded a push into media that has largely foundered.

4. Failing to Click With DoubleClick 
Another deal Yahoo! missed out on was DoubleClick. The advertising network specialized in the display ads that had long been Yahoo!’s strength as it struggled to hold back a surging Google. But when Yahoo! didn’t move quick enough to purchase the ad network, Google pounced, helping to close the gap.

5. Not Bonding With Ballmer 
Perhaps Yahoo!’s biggest bonehead maneuver was failing to deal with Microsoft’s acquisition offer quickly and cleanly. As a result, the drama dragged on for months, sapping Yahoo!’s energy and opening the door to Carl Icahn, the aggressive corporate raider who grabbed three seats on Yahoo!’s board in August. The move undoubtedly led to Yang’s ouster this week.

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