The search engine Yahoo has not had much to celebrate over the last couple of years, typified by their botched deal with Microsoft last summer. Yahoo has receded into an almost non-entity over the last five years, losing out significantly to Google in most areas with some sources reporting that Google demands up to 88% of the UK search market and over 70% of the global search market.
In January 2009 Google announced that it was ceasing development on their Google pad, a similar application to Yahoo Search Pad, where users can save search clippings in an online file. It is unclear whether Yahoo’s decision or timing was at all based on the cancellation of Notebook, but it is a bit of a coincidence. The message on the official Google blog was familiar, as we have seen the same standard message a number of times over the last six months.
Responses to the Google blog statement from Notebook users have shown users are looking for alternatives and these might well be the people that Yahoo are targeting with Search Pad while it is in the testing stages. There are other applications such as Zoho Notebook, which is available as a plug-in through Firefox, which has a pre-established user base. It is not clear what the Yahoo version is are offering that Google and Zoho are not, however there will not be an answer to that until it has been tried and tested.
The Yahoo application sounds very similar on paper. It is used in conjunction with a Yahoo account and users can switch the mode on and off when required. When a specific keyword is being used the application automatically saves information regarding your search which can then be refined, reordered, saved and deleted to create a document which can be integrated into other applications such as Delicious.
The binning of Notebook has surprised a great many users as it was widely used compared to the other applications Google has struck off already in 2009. The repetitive message that appears on the official Google blog contains words to the effect of focusing on core business. If an application is not earning enough money, not corporately viable then it is in trouble. It is a far cry from the innovative principals that Google was founded on and it feels as if there is more to come.
Related posts: