I know this article is a little old, but is still interesting to me nonetheless.

Is Facebook Like Google, or More Like Yahoo?

I found it interesting because a relatively young blogger, in terms of AOL, Yahoo! and Google,   I never knew the specifics behind any of these companies or where they were headed.  Growing up, I never knew how they were affecting the World Wide Web.  All I knew was that I could IM my friends, change my AOL profiles, go into chat rooms, and look at web comics.  No fancy explanation needed.

Now that I’m a little older, perhaps a little wiser,  I have studied some of the history of Yahoo!, and have been more aware of the changes it’s gone through, especially when compared to Google.   Comparisons can then be drawn between Yahoo! and Facebook.

Yahoo and Google have grown in much different ways.  Yahoo! started as search engine but quickly tried to diversify its market by obtaining email, games, messenger, chat,  and a myriad of other products.  It became a publicly traded company within a year of incorporation.

Google, on the other hand, did not make its first acquisition until nearly 3 years after its inception.   They started off slowly, waiting 6 years to become an IPO and 5 years to start introducing things that weren’t search related.   Confidence was built in their search engine and the rest seemed to fall into place after that.  Google loyalists who would use any product they offer, since it all works so seamlessly.

The article then delves into the Facebook – Yahoo! connection – how the two companies parallel.   Facebook, not unlike Yahoo!, started and quickly rose in popularity.  Using that as a springboard, it gave way for Facebook to introduce secondary services and features.  It wasn’t just about straight social network and profile.  Facebook tried to turn itself into a place where you could buy things from other users, write notes and import blogs, play games, chat, among other things.

I can’t say I disagree with the author’s comparison of the two companies.  Like Yahoo once did, Facebook has diversified too soon.  It tried to become too many things at once.  It didn’t devote enough time to perfecting the profile and the connections that can be made from there.  Instead, it introduced news feed, live news feed, the highlights bar, all having been met with some chagrin from its users.

I’m not saying I don’t like some of the features that the site comes up with (such as commenting on statuses), but they could have taken a bit more time to consider where they want to go (goal-wise)  instead  of jumping in with both feet first and attempting to use their popularity to try out a bunch of different new things.  People don’t seem to respond very well when something “isn’t broken”.  Google’s slow and steady approach seems to be winning the race, while fast and furious has a greater chance of crashing and burning.