Comments on: Yahoo Tech Is Tech For the Rest of Us http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/ The (r)Eevolution of Media Tue, 22 Jun 2010 09:23:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Maven Article - The First Digital Community of Arts from INDIA http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-3360 Maven Article - The First Digital Community of Arts from INDIA Tue, 16 May 2006 23:13:06 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-3360 <!--%kramer-ref-pre%-->[...] - Yahoo Tech Is Tech For the Rest of Us (Scott Karp responds to criticism of Yahoo Tech by myself and Om Malik, amongst other geeks. Om responds. I'll certainly be interested to see if/how Yahoo Tech gathers a passionate user base around their site...) [...]<!--%kramer-ref-post%--> [...] – Yahoo Tech Is Tech For the Rest of Us (Scott Karp responds to criticism of Yahoo Tech by myself and Om Malik, amongst other geeks. Om responds. I’ll certainly be interested to see if/how Yahoo Tech gathers a passionate user base around their site…) [...]

]]> By: Sally http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-2750 Sally Tue, 02 May 2006 22:47:59 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-2750 I agree that it is a false polarization, but that's exactly why I point it out. To me, and perhaps I'm wrong, the site's use of personalities, big photos, highlighting very basic tech questions, etc. all point to creating a site for the uninformed. Is the middle, and not just the middle, the specific middle who want to go online and spend quite a while looking at tech products, really that uninformed? And no, most of those aren't pot-shots at beta problems. Fundamentally, the content the site guides me to is stuff like PC Magazine and For Dummies, which seem to be there because of Yahoo! marketing deals and not because it's the most up-to-date and best content available. I'm not saying this won't steal some users from CNET, but given what Yahoo! <em>can</em> do, this feels half-baked and overly driven by marketing dudes. I agree that it is a false polarization, but that’s exactly why I point it out. To me, and perhaps I’m wrong, the site’s use of personalities, big photos, highlighting very basic tech questions, etc. all point to creating a site for the uninformed. Is the middle, and not just the middle, the specific middle who want to go online and spend quite a while looking at tech products, really that uninformed?

And no, most of those aren’t pot-shots at beta problems. Fundamentally, the content the site guides me to is stuff like PC Magazine and For Dummies, which seem to be there because of Yahoo! marketing deals and not because it’s the most up-to-date and best content available.

I’m not saying this won’t steal some users from CNET, but given what Yahoo! can do, this feels half-baked and overly driven by marketing dudes.

]]> By: Scott Karp http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-2743 Scott Karp Tue, 02 May 2006 18:11:16 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-2743 Mathew, just as users accept the "ugly" in the "ugly but useful," I think Yahoo Tech users will accept the cheesy if Yahoo proves to be more useful than CNET, which I think it will. Sally (or whoever you are), you're creating a false polarization with "geeks" at one end and "technophobes" at the other. 80% of people are in the middle -- they want and need technology, and want to make smart purchase decisions, but are more down-to-earth in their approach -- Yahoo is aiming to steal them away from CNET. All of your other critique are pot shots at beta kinks to be worked out. Mathew, just as users accept the “ugly” in the “ugly but useful,” I think Yahoo Tech users will accept the cheesy if Yahoo proves to be more useful than CNET, which I think it will.

Sally (or whoever you are), you’re creating a false polarization with “geeks” at one end and “technophobes” at the other. 80% of people are in the middle — they want and need technology, and want to make smart purchase decisions, but are more down-to-earth in their approach — Yahoo is aiming to steal them away from CNET. All of your other critique are pot shots at beta kinks to be worked out.

]]> By: Alex Moskalyuk http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-2737 Alex Moskalyuk Tue, 02 May 2006 16:32:06 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-2737 As far as the lack of expertise, please note a rather large amount of professional reviews aggregated for some products like this one: http://tech.yahoo.com/pr/Canon-PowerShot-A510-Digital-Camera/1991697476 You've got the Consumer Reports, you have PC World, you have CNET. The number of those reviews will only grow with time, and should present a more objective view of the product to the user, than any review site that runs just 1 review of the product. As far as the lack of expertise, please note a rather large amount of professional reviews aggregated for some products like this one:
http://tech.yahoo.com/pr/Canon-PowerShot-A510-Digital-Camera/1991697476
You’ve got the Consumer Reports, you have PC World, you have CNET. The number of those reviews will only grow with time, and should present a more objective view of the product to the user, than any review site that runs just 1 review of the product.

]]> By: The Daily Om : » More Yahoo Tech Reactions http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-2736 The Daily Om : » More Yahoo Tech Reactions Tue, 02 May 2006 15:14:23 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-2736 [...] Scott Karp got his knickers in a twist and is taking tech bloggers to task and says Yahoo Tech is tech for rest of us. Funny, my point, exactly. C/Net and Yahoo Tech two different audiences. Both Richard and Om Malik bemoan the site’s “consumerism” because it doesn’t have the sober tech-as-religion feel of CNET. [...] [...] Scott Karp got his knickers in a twist and is taking tech bloggers to task and says Yahoo Tech is tech for rest of us. Funny, my point, exactly. C/Net and Yahoo Tech two different audiences. Both Richard and Om Malik bemoan the site’s “consumerism” because it doesn’t have the sober tech-as-religion feel of CNET. [...]

]]> By: Mathew Ingram http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-2734 Mathew Ingram Tue, 02 May 2006 14:32:10 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-2734 "Shit-ergy." Good one, Sally. Scott, I think you have a point about it approaching the average user on a non-geek level, which has some merit to it -- but my big problem isn't the lack of experts, it's the fact that the thing looks like brochure-ware, with clip-art style layouts and photos. Cheesy. Granted, CNET is no beauty queen either, but it makes me wonder whether Yahoo's site wasn't designed primarily for advertisers rather than users. I think users will sense that. Sometimes ugly but functional (a la craigslist.org) is better. “Shit-ergy.” Good one, Sally.

Scott, I think you have a point about it approaching the average user on a non-geek level, which has some merit to it — but my big problem isn’t the lack of experts, it’s the fact that the thing looks like brochure-ware, with clip-art style layouts and photos. Cheesy.

Granted, CNET is no beauty queen either, but it makes me wonder whether Yahoo’s site wasn’t designed primarily for advertisers rather than users. I think users will sense that. Sometimes ugly but functional (a la craigslist.org) is better.

]]> By: Sally http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-2727 Sally Tue, 02 May 2006 08:23:25 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-2727 I disagree, this looks lame to me because it's a big ad, it's unfocused, and it's creating a new market which I'm not sure exists-- the techphobic person who wants to spend a bunch of time on the internet geeking out on technology. If I'm not into technology, why do I need a massive tech site to begin with? You may see synergy, but I see its far more common cousin, shitergy. The content is not aggregated enough and clearly driven by biz dev people who struck deals with publishers to feature their content and sell subscriptions or books (For Dummies, which are naturally more outdated when it comes to tech then the living, breathing online tech world). Yahoo Answers integration has some potential, but the way it's strucutred currently makes it a chore to find quick answers to less-specific questions. Tech Advisors? When was the last time anything on the internet with "Barb, the totally rockin' Gen X gadget head" actually suceeded? The whole not-stock-photo-but-almost aspect will not sell, people use the information for good, hard information and information leverage. Yahoo Tech is designed with the current online ad market in mind, and not the user. I disagree, this looks lame to me because it’s a big ad, it’s unfocused, and it’s creating a new market which I’m not sure exists– the techphobic person who wants to spend a bunch of time on the internet geeking out on technology. If I’m not into technology, why do I need a massive tech site to begin with? You may see synergy, but I see its far more common cousin, shitergy.

The content is not aggregated enough and clearly driven by biz dev people who struck deals with publishers to feature their content and sell subscriptions or books (For Dummies, which are naturally more outdated when it comes to tech then the living, breathing online tech world). Yahoo Answers integration has some potential, but the way it’s strucutred currently makes it a chore to find quick answers to less-specific questions. Tech Advisors? When was the last time anything on the internet with “Barb, the totally rockin’ Gen X gadget head” actually suceeded? The whole not-stock-photo-but-almost aspect will not sell, people use the information for good, hard information and information leverage. Yahoo Tech is designed with the current online ad market in mind, and not the user.

]]> By: AtlantasNews | Calibrating for hype http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-2843 AtlantasNews | Calibrating for hype Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-2843 <!--%kramer-pre%--> [IMG rex] Yahoo! Tech vs. CNET is no contest, as in, it's NOT a contest: (Scott Karpon why the blogosphere isn't impressed with Yahoo! Tech): "Why — because they’re all a BUNCH OF GEEKS." (By "blogosphere," I assume he's referring to the tech blogosphere, as a quick Technorati search reveals that knitting bloggers have been strangely<!--%kramer-post%--> [IMG rex] Yahoo! Tech vs. CNET is no contest, as in, it’s NOT a contest: (Scott Karpon why the blogosphere isn’t impressed with Yahoo! Tech): “Why — because they’re all a BUNCH OF GEEKS.” (By “blogosphere,” I assume he’s referring to the tech blogosphere, as a quick Technorati search reveals that knitting bloggers have been strangely

]]> By: Matt McAlister http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-2844 Matt McAlister Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-2844 <!--%kramer-pre%-->Publishing 2.0 » Yahoo Tech Is Tech For the Rest of Us Here’s why I think Yahoo Tech is a serious threat to CNET: Read/WriteWeb: Microcontent Aggregators: Peoplefeeds Peoplefeeds aggregates content from a variety of sources - a person's blog(s), Flickr feed, del.icio.us links and so on.<!--%kramer-post%--> Publishing 2.0 » Yahoo Tech Is Tech For the Rest of Us Here’s why I think Yahoo Tech is a serious threat to CNET: Read/WriteWeb: Microcontent Aggregators: Peoplefeeds Peoplefeeds aggregates content from a variety of sources – a person’s blog(s), Flickr feed, del.icio.us links and so on.

]]> By: Yogissalon | Yogissalon http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-2845 Yogissalon | Yogissalon Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-2845 <!--%kramer-pre%--> [IMG rex] Yahoo! Tech vs. CNET is no contest, as in, it's NOT a contest: (Scott Karpon why the blogosphere isn't impressed with Yahoo! Tech): "Why — because they’re all a BUNCH OF GEEKS." (By "blogosphere," I assume he's referring to the tech blogosphere, as a quick Technorati search reveals that knitting bloggers have been strangely<!--%kramer-post%--> [IMG rex] Yahoo! Tech vs. CNET is no contest, as in, it’s NOT a contest: (Scott Karpon why the blogosphere isn’t impressed with Yahoo! Tech): “Why — because they’re all a BUNCH OF GEEKS.” (By “blogosphere,” I assume he’s referring to the tech blogosphere, as a quick Technorati search reveals that knitting bloggers have been strangely

]]> By: rexblog.com: Rex Hammock's Weblog http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-2846 rexblog.com: Rex Hammock's Weblog Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-2846 <!--%kramer-pre%-->on why<!--%kramer-post%--> on why

]]> By: tech.memeorandum http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-2847 tech.memeorandum Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-2847 <!--%kramer-pre%--> + Discussion:Publishing 2.0, paidContent.org, B2Day, Squash, Rex Hammock's Weblog, TechBlog, Mashable*, Good Morning Silicon Valley, eastwikkers, Lifehacker, Clickety Clack and New York Times<!--%kramer-post%--> + Discussion:Publishing 2.0, paidContent.org, B2Day, Squash, Rex Hammock’s Weblog, TechBlog, Mashable*, Good Morning Silicon Valley, eastwikkers, Lifehacker, Clickety Clack and New York Times

]]> By: Women in Open Source and Emergent Gaming Behavior How do (HornDogWeb) http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-2911 Women in Open Source and Emergent Gaming Behavior How do (HornDogWeb) Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-2911 <!--%kramer-pre%-->Fox Interactive Media has picked up two small Web companies to complement earlier Internet acquisitions such as MySpace" — Newroo and kSolo hardly earth-shattering buys… haven't seen a solid Web strategy yet from News Corp) -Yahoo Tech Is Tech For the Rest of Us (Scott Karp responds to criticism of Yahoo Tech by myself and Om Malik, amongst other geeks. Om responds. I'll certainly be interested to see if/how Yahoo Tech gathers a passionate user base around their site<!--%kramer-post%--> Fox Interactive Media has picked up two small Web companies to complement earlier Internet acquisitions such as MySpace” — Newroo and kSolo hardly earth-shattering buys… haven’t seen a solid Web strategy yet from News Corp) -Yahoo Tech Is Tech For the Rest of Us (Scott Karp responds to criticism of Yahoo Tech by myself and Om Malik, amongst other geeks. Om responds. I’ll certainly be interested to see if/how Yahoo Tech gathers a passionate user base around their site

]]> By: Read/WriteWeb http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-2912 Read/WriteWeb Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-2912 <!--%kramer-pre%--> ("Fox Interactive Media has picked up two small Web companies to complement earlier Internet acquisitions such as MySpace" -- Newroo and kSolo hardly earth-shattering buys... haven't seen a solid Web strategy yet from News Corp) -Yahoo Tech Is Tech For the Rest of Us (Scott Karp responds to criticism of Yahoo Tech by myself and Om Malik, amongst other geeks. Om responds. I'll certainly be interested to see if/how Yahoo tech gathers a passionate user base around their site...)<!--%kramer-post%--> (“Fox Interactive Media has picked up two small Web companies to complement earlier Internet acquisitions such as MySpace” — Newroo and kSolo hardly earth-shattering buys… haven’t seen a solid Web strategy yet from News Corp) -Yahoo Tech Is Tech For the Rest of Us (Scott Karp responds to criticism of Yahoo Tech by myself and Om Malik, amongst other geeks. Om responds. I’ll certainly be interested to see if/how Yahoo tech gathers a passionate user base around their site…)

]]> By: web2-0.startpagina.nl http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-12141 web2-0.startpagina.nl Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-12141 <!--%kramer-pre%--> ("Fox Interactive Media has picked up two small Web companies to complement earlier Internet acquisitions such as MySpace" -- Newroo and kSolo hardly earth-shattering buys... haven't seen a solid Web strategy yet from News Corp) -Yahoo Tech Is Tech For the Rest of Us (Scott Karp responds to criticism of Yahoo Tech by myself and Om Malik, amongst other geeks. Om responds. I'll certainly be interested to see if/how Yahoo Tech gathers a passionate user base around their site...)<!--%kramer-post%--> (“Fox Interactive Media has picked up two small Web companies to complement earlier Internet acquisitions such as MySpace” — Newroo and kSolo hardly earth-shattering buys… haven’t seen a solid Web strategy yet from News Corp) -Yahoo Tech Is Tech For the Rest of Us (Scott Karp responds to criticism of Yahoo Tech by myself and Om Malik, amongst other geeks. Om responds. I’ll certainly be interested to see if/how Yahoo Tech gathers a passionate user base around their site…)

]]> By: All Things Bright - entrepreneurship, creativity, blogging, web design, Web 2.0, SEO, marketing, monetization & more http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/comment-page-1/#comment-12259 All Things Bright - entrepreneurship, creativity, blogging, web design, Web 2.0, SEO, marketing, monetization & more Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://publishing2.com/2006/05/01/yahoo-tech-is-tech-for-the-rest-of-us/#comment-12259 <!--%kramer-pre%--> I’ve been thinking about ‘making technology mainstream’ for a while now, ever since reading the Publishing 2.0 article, Yahoo Tech Is Tech For the Rest of Us. From my experiences working in a government organisation and for a non-profit organisation, I know that many (if not most) people find working with technology a battle, never knowing when it will suddenly crash or fail in some other way. The most<!--%kramer-post%--> I’ve been thinking about ‘making technology mainstream’ for a while now, ever since reading the Publishing 2.0 article, Yahoo Tech Is Tech For the Rest of Us. From my experiences working in a government organisation and for a non-profit organisation, I know that many (if not most) people find working with technology a battle, never knowing when it will suddenly crash or fail in some other way. The most

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