OK, I saw this Friday, but did not have time to write about it since I was out of town all weekend (driving to and from Bakersfield). Anyways, check out this article.
Yahoo chairman Terry Semel belittled rival Google's recent efforts to expand beyond its leading internet search engine, describing the diversification as a haphazard attempt to catch up with his company. "So far they don't seem to have a plan, but maybe they do," Semel said Thursday during a question-and-answer session at an internet conference. "Maybe magic will happen tomorrow."As they pointed out in the article, Terry Semel does not come out often to talk about Yahoo!'s rival. But, I think Semel was just coming out and saying what is on the minds of a lot of tech people nowadays. Now, before everyone thinks that Semel is out to bash Google, he did praise Google's search prowess earlier in the talk. He said that Google is a pioneer in the search field. Though, he points out that Google's tries at diversification have been all following in the footsteps of Yahoo!. Some examples: E-mail, photo sharing, social networking, maps, local, personalized home pages and voice communications. I think this is the turning point for Google. The perception of the company as an innovator is slowly coming to a halt. The perception of Google as a copycat is starting to catch on. Google sure isn't helping to halt this change in perception as they continue to follow in the footsteps of others instead of coming out with innovative products.