Yahoo! Publisher Network Beta launched in August 2005. Yet, nearly two years later it is still in beta and still isn’t accepting non-US applicants.
I’m starting to wonder if Yahoo! Publisher Network will ever see the light of day, and if it does, if it will be able to take away significant market share from Google Adsense, who are probably now unmovable as the number one contextual ad service for publishers and bloggers.
My first introduction to the internet was Yahoo! and My Yahoo! used to be my homepage until I started using Gmail and Google Reader. Now, I only visit Yahoo! to do exchange rate calculations as I have a handy module on My Yahoo! page.
As the months go by, Yahoo just seem to be losing more and more ground to Google, with more and more bad stories about Yahoo emerging weekly. Last week it was Yahoo’s poor quarterly earnings (especially when compared to Google’s stellar performance). This week, it’s the rumoured acquisition with Microsoft which I think Silicon Valley Sleuth are correct in describing as a Shotgun Wedding, and also the rumoured shut-down of one of its historical strong services Yahoo! Photos.
If a Microsoft-Yahoo merger does materialise it won’t be because it’s a good strategic move. It will be because it’s a last ditch attempt to close the gap on Google.
