A Yahoo/Google Competitive Product Matrix

Posted by Jeff Boulter on 5 August 2007, 8:02 pm

Yahoo’s been cranking out websites since 1995. Google showed up in 1998 and after the turn of the century started to build out a lot more products, some of them search-based, some of them not.

This got me curious about where these companies are respectively. Google is clearly the Search king, but what about in other areas, particularly media sites. Do people use them? I did an inventory of all the significant Yahoo and Google sites, found some data on their performance relative to each other. The results were very surprising in some cases.

Here they are.

My observations:

Google is the search leader. They are the #1 web search engine and have a lot more search verticals (Books, Patents, etc.) than Yahoo. Surprisingly, Google does not have an audio search.
In every Media product except Video (YouTube), Google is a no-show. Yahoo dominates. Google News is #5, Google Finance is #40. They have very little in Movies and no TV or Sports content – at least as of today.
Gmail (#3) and Google Maps (#3) have more mind share than users. People have told me they think they are market leaders.
Google has some really weird products that don’t really fit anywhere like Earth and Web Accelerator. On the other hand, Yahoo Broadway and Pets are way out there too.
Many of Google’s products are not monetized in any way.
Google Base provides some offering in a bunch of areas, but it’s listings only. Yahoo generally has content and some kind of application around the product (like Trip itinerary sharing) that makes it a much stronger offering.
Many of Google’s products are customized searches. They’re bare-bones and fast, but do users want more?

Tracking down publicly available metrics was hard. Except for Web Search, Neilsen/Comscore/Compete/HitWise don’t give out this data without some money exchanging hands. If you know of any, especially for the highlighted services, let me know.

More data I hope to add: date of each site’s launch; Microsoft Sites.

Audrey’s Birth Log

Posted by Jeff Boulter on 4 August 2007, 9:29 am

So I put the whole log of labor, birth and after in twitter. It’s harder to find and read now, so I put it all together in a chronological list to keep. Here it is.

10:33 AM July 23, 2007
3-4 cm, good position

10:27 AM July 23, 2007
Midwife says it will happen today. Anne is relieved.

10:56 AM July 23, 2007
heading home at least for a few hours

11:03 AM July 23, 2007
They want us to come back when contractions are 2-3 mins apart

11:14 AM July 23, 2007
At home again

11:14 AM July 23, 2007
Doula is on her way here

11:38 AM July 23, 2007
Doula is here

11:44 AM July 23, 2007
Cats are totally freaked out

11:53 AM July 23, 2007
Trying to go for a walk outside

12:10 PM July 23, 2007
4-6 mins apart now

12:12 PM July 23, 2007
Having my last lunch as a D.I.N.K.

12:56 PM July 23, 2007
slowing down again. Going for another walk.

01:10 PM July 23, 2007
Made it all the way to the park

01:52 PM July 23, 2007
Still hanging out at home

02:43 PM July 23, 2007
contractions are getting close. Getting ready to head back to the hospital.

02:56 PM July 23, 2007
almost at the hospital

03:11 PM July 23, 2007
In our room.

04:16 PM July 23, 2007
IV going in

04:44 PM July 23, 2007
4-5 cm now

04:57 PM July 23, 2007
This appears to be quite painful. The midwife and nurse are double-teaming her while I recharge with a snack.

05:37 PM July 23, 2007
Still progressing

06:24 PM July 23, 2007
Man, this is one tough chick

06:54 PM July 23, 2007
Did I mention she didn’t sleep at all last night?

07:58 PM July 23, 2007
8 cm!! 90 percent effaced, 0/+1 position. Almost there!

08:40 PM July 23, 2007
Hoping to start pushing soon

09:03 PM July 23, 2007
almost ready to push

09:11 PM July 23, 2007
9 cm

09:20 PM July 23, 2007
Pushing

09:46 PM July 23, 2007
Water is broken

10:05 PM July 23, 2007
Bringing in some pitocin to finish the job

10:14 PM July 23, 2007
Anne just said “I should have had a damn epidural!”

10:29 PM July 23, 2007
Anne just asked me if I was OK. Are you kidding me?

11:12 PM July 23, 2007
Trying some different positions

11:53 PM July 23, 2007
A couple more pushes?

12:19 AM July 24, 2007
Epidural coming

12:29 AM July 24, 2007
Anne apologized to the midwife for keeping her up late.

12:39 AM July 24, 2007
Epidural is in

01:01 AM July 24, 2007
Head is turned sideways a bit. Everyone is resting up for an hour or so before pushing again.

04:23 AM July 24, 2007
Baby appears stuck. Probably going to a c section soon.

04:50 AM July 24, 2007
Waiting to go into the OR. Anne and baby are fine.

04:58 AM July 24, 2007
waiting outside the OR

05:04 AM July 24, 2007
5 minutes before the baby comes out of the OR

05:19 AM July 24, 2007
I hear crying!

05:25 AM July 24, 2007
Nurse said everything is good. Just saw some pictures. Very blonde hair!

05:33 AM July 24, 2007
first pic on flickr. 7 lbs 7 oz, 19 3/4 long.

05:40 AM July 24, 2007
Digits: 10, Toes: 10, Ear lobes: detached. Eye brows: Anne’s. Bats: Left, Throws: Right

05:46 AM July 24, 2007
better pic on flickr

05:50 AM July 24, 2007
Born at 5:17 am

05:53 AM July 24, 2007
name not decided yet.

06:31 AM July 24, 2007
Anne is great

09:07 AM July 24, 2007
met pediatrician, nurse doing assessment. All systems are go.

01:00 PM July 24, 2007
And we have name. By unanimous decision… Audrey Sarah Boulter!

Audrey FAQs

Posted by Jeff Boulter on 25 July 2007, 9:49 am

How’s she doing?

Great! She lost a little weight, which is normal. The biggest challenge is getting the hang of the feeding.

Got any more pics?

I just posted some more on Flickr.

When do you go home?

Should be Saturday.

Does she have an email address?

Of course! [email protected].

Are you taking time off?

I’ll be off work until August 6 at least. Anne will need lots of help as she recovers from the c-section.

Do you have family coming out to help you?

Yup, we’ve got a pretty full house through August, starting with Anne’s Mom on August 6.

What other names did you consider?

Sidney and Ainsley were in the final three. She just looked more like an Audrey when we met her.

Are you staying at the hospital?

Yes, in the room on the world’s most uncomfortable cot. I’m tired enough that this does not matter however.

Audrey Sarah Boulter

Posted by Jeff Boulter on 24 July 2007, 2:51 pm

After what was a long day and night, we are happy to announce the arrival of Audrey Sarah Boulter.

Vital Stats
Born: July 24, 2007 5:17 am PT
Weight: 7 lbs 7 oz
Length: 19 3/4 in
Hair: Blonde
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Eyes: Blue

I posted the events as they happened from my Treo on Twitter. Might this be the first Twittercast of a birth?

All the photos are on Flickr.

Despite 30 hours of labor, 2 days without sleep and a C-section, everyone is fine. Thank you for your notes of encouragement and congratulations.

Heading to the Hospital…

Posted by Jeff Boulter on 23 July 2007, 8:55 am

Anne had contractions 8-12 minutes apart all night. I was up for some of it, but she wanted me to be rested, so slept some. We called the midwife this morning and she said to come in for a labor check. We’re taking all our stuff just in case we don’t come back for a couple days.

I will post regular updates on twitter. Check back there frequently.

Anxieties of a Father-to-be

Posted by Jeff Boulter on 17 July 2007, 10:59 pm

I really don’t understand parents.

When I tell other people that have kids that we’re expecting our first kid any day now, the first thing they tell me how “great” it is. The second thing they tell me, with silly grins on their faces, is their horror stories about when their kid was born, getting no sleep and cleaning up all sorts of messes. Huh? Cleaning + stress + sleep deprivation != “great”.

So I have to assume that having a kid is great for other reasons, which people are generally very vague about. Is it that parents are delusional? Do kids activate some kind of mental disorder that makes being a slave to another human pleasurable? I hope so, because otherwise I’m going to be miserable.

We took something like 22 hours of parenting preparation classes. Most of those hours were about how to deal with horrible, or at least unpleasant things that can happen to your kid and you before and after birth. Again, this does not sound “great”.

I have to believe that there is some kind of switch that flips in our brains that convinces us that kids are worth the effort. After all, we’re animals. For our species to survive after millions of years, something has to be hardwired for this. It’s not a choice – you feel compelled to do it. If even half of parents decided that kids were just not worth the trouble and threw them away, we would not survive as a species.

So I worry that perhaps my switch will be broken and I’ll hate having a kid. On the other hand, I worry the opposite will happen. I don’t want to become totally absorbed in a kid and lose my passions for work, hobbies, and other people and parts of my life.

Can someone explain to me why I’m going to love having a kid despite a ll the screaming, feeding and cleaning up? Or will I convince myself that I love having a kid because I can’t admit to investing so much time in something that I didn’t love?

After 5 minutes of research, I found my answer. I was right. All parents are on drugs, and I say bring it on. I’ll take a double dose of Oxytocin, please.

Anne’s Blog: The Ultimate Limbo

Posted by Jeff Boulter on 17 July 2007, 6:25 pm

Jeff and I both feel like we are in this really weird period of waiting.

Read On

Anne’s Blog is currently only open to friends and family. Let me know if you’re one of those and don’t have access.

Yahoo T-shirt: Personal Finance and a whole month of Yahoo T-shirts!

Posted by Jeff Boulter on 29 June 2007, 7:15 pm

I was desperate. I was one day away from completing my month of Yahoo T-shirts, but I was out of shirts. Surely there must be some lying around somewhere at work? I asked and yes there were. Closets full of them. This one fit the bill and my goal was complete.

This one commemorates the launch of Personal Finance, the “Weekend edition” of finance.yahoo.com when the stock markets are closed. Lots of good info there!

I’m not a fan of long-sleeve t’s, but Anne loves them. So after it goes through the wash, it will go to her.

Acquired: Yesterday!
Rating: 3/5

And with that, I completed my goal of wearing a Yahoo T-shirt every workday in June. That’s 21 different shirts. Next year maybe I’ll try to do weekends too…

Why I don’t want an iPhone

Posted by Jeff Boulter on 29 June 2007, 5:25 pm

The iPhone hype is deafening. Even so, I don’t want one.

AT&T coverage is sucky.
No Bluetooth Dial-up Networking. I use this a lot to get Internet access from my laptop.
No IM client. I also use this a lot.
No ability to create and install real apps on it. Widgets are nice unless you’re offline.
It’s expensive.

OK nevermind, this is not convincing me that I don’t want one. Gimme!!

Damn you, Apple.

Yahoo T-shirt: LAUNCH in White

Posted by Jeff Boulter on 28 June 2007, 5:26 pm

~~I thought I had worn this shirt last year, but I guess not. Perhaps it was too ratty and big.~~ I guess I did. It’s definitely had its day. I was 2 days away from completing my month of Yahoo t-shirts though, so there’s no holding back now.

This one is the same as the other one I have, just with inverted colors.

Acquired: 2000?
Rating: 1.5/5