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(Bonus) The Fate (And Legacy) Of Yahoo, With Harry McCracken

Oct 26, 2019

In a captivating discussion, Harry McCracken, a respected tech journalist, reflects on Yahoo's legacy, once the titan of the internet. He examines the nostalgic essence of Yahoo Groups and what their closure signifies about the fleeting nature of online communities. The conversation dives into Yahoo's identity crisis, where it faltered while trying to redefine itself amid competition from giants like Google and Facebook. McCracken highlights missed opportunities in Yahoo's tech evolution and how these elements contribute to our collective yearning for the early days of the web.

19:54

Episode guests

Harry McCracken

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

3min

Yahoo's Identity Crisis

6min

Missed Opportunities and Struggles in Yahoo's Tech Evolution

4min

The Rise and Fall of Yahoo's Acquisitions

2min

Nostalgia and Evolution of Yahoo Groups

7min

The news that Yahoo was shutting down Yahoo Groups, as I said, was another gut punch when you realize how much of the web’s history is so ephemeral. It also got me thinking that Yahoo as a company might be about to go down the memory hole, and that got me thinking about Yahoo’s legacy as perhaps the first great Internet company, and that got me talking to one of the deans of tech journalism, Harry McCracken. What IS Yahoo’s legacy? Why has it ended up the way it has? And also, why do we feel nostalgic for the sort of web Yahoo Groups represents? What has changed on the Internet from the Yahoo Groups glory days until now?

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