How times have changed. I remember five years ago when Yahoo! was the darling of the Internet. I also recall a time when I used nothing but Yahoo! for searching the Internet. But that was then and this is now. The new golden star is obviously Google which has grown in leaps and bounds since it went public back in 2004. That year Yahoo! was still the biggest asset valued at about $39 billion compared to Google’s paltry $25 billion.

But in 2007, Google makes more in one quarter than Yahoo! makes in a year and is tipping the scales at $140 billion while Yahoo! has slipped to $37 billion. Which begs us to ask the question: “What happened?” Well the shareholders at Yahoo! are asking the same thing. Seems that a group of 80 or so shareholders are going to try for a coup when the next shareholder meeting takes place this Tuesday. In their sights is Chairman Terry Semel and his large salary that, it is felt, he may not be doing enough to earn.

While Yahoo! languishes in the past, search giant Google has pulled ahead of all contenders by purchasing YouTube and DoubleClick, introduced its own set of online applications, and, most important, continues to attract those huge advertising bucks. But is that all there is to Google? Just a company that is run better and smarter?

I personally don’t think that is it. There is a persona behind the company and its employees that presents itself as kind of a fairy tale operation. How many companies treat their employees so well, with free gourmet meals and free transportation, and pays them handsomely for their work but also insists that they spend 20% of their work time on their own projects? Look at the two guys who founded Google. They look like choir boys. The company motto of ‘do no harm’ is just amazing in a day of corporate corruption and daily scandals.

IMHO I think Google not only stumbled on a great way to do searches, but also has kept its corporate image high upon a pillar. Can you imagine if other companies followed Google’s lead? We could walk into a Ben and Jerry’s on a Friday for the afternoon special of a free scoop of ice cream, or into Pizza Hut on a Tuesday afternoon for a free slice of pizza or a Ford dealership for the monthly special for a free oil change. Yeah, right! I don’t think it is going to happen. This is why Google shines. Its stuff is free and who doesn’t like free?

What do you think? Can Yahoo! overcome the Google empire or is it doomed?

Comments welcome.

[tags]yahoo, google, public, shares, meeting[/tags]