Yahoo adds Net Events
Yahoo announces that it will offer a new service, dubbed Yahoo Net Events, which will provide a daily list of chats and live happenings on the Web.
The service is aimed at meeting the demand for a comprehensive listing of daily events in cyberspace, just like television listings. For many Netizens, the Net is becoming like TV, minus a good daily guide.
The service has been quietly posted on the company's Net Events site ("Yahoo Net Events: today's chats and live happenings on the Web.") It allows you to search the site but also lists categories to check, such as arts and entertainment, business and economy, news and media, science, and sports.
This week marks the first time that Yahoo has been present at Comdex, the big computer industry trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada, but it signifies the fledgling company's growing force in the market.
In only two years, Yahoo has grown from an Internet directory service to a publicly held company with an ever-expanding lineup of services, including news, localized Web sites, dining guides, and stock quotes. The company also is building an international presence, trying to leverage its brand name, just like Coke or Disney.
Last week, for example, Yahoo and MTV said they would team up to create a guide to music on the Web.
Like most Internet companies, though, Yahoo has yet to make money. Its stock is trading at 17-7/8, hovering near a 52-week low of 15-1/2. The stock has traded as high as 43 in the past 52 weeks.
Competition is increasing as well from the likes of Lycos, AltaVista, Excite, and Infoseek.
Similar services already are available, such as NetGuide Live and Netclock, which dubs itself the "TV Guide to cyberspace."
At least one market analysis firm was bullish about Yahoo's prospects, though. "We are especially excited about Yahoo's regionalization and globalization initiatives, which have allowed it to effectively offer advertisers the Web as both a local and global advertising medium," said Paul Noglows of Hambrecht and Quist in a report written last week.
"While the company's valuation looks rather full, we believe its superior performance in building traffic and adding advertisers, strong balance sheet, and excellent management team position it to more fully benefit from the growth of the Web than many of its competitors."
The report also tabulated the top search services based on total audience, as follows:
| Top Search Services | ||
| Rank | Site | URL |
| 1 | Yahoo | www.yahoo.com |
| 2 | WebCrawler | www.webcrawler.com |
| 3 | Excite | www.excite.com |
| 4 | Infoseek | www.infoseek.com |
| 5 | Lycos | www.lycos.com |
| 6 | AltaVista | www.altavista.digital.com |
| 7 | Magellan | www.mckinley.com |
| 8 | CNET | www.search.com |
| 9 | DejaNews | www.dejanews.com |
| 10 | HotBot | www.hotbot.com |
| * Based on total audience Source: PC Meter | ||