While Yahoo continues to make efforts in search, including bringing Glue pages to the US and winning T-Mobiles mobile search contract, speculation is flying thick and fast that one way or another, Yahoos getting out of the business of search.

Not helping things for Yahoo is the departure of Yahoos VP of Web Search Technology"leaving for Microsoft. As Valleywag puts it, the loss of Sean Suchter, along with that of Qi Lu who left Yahoo for Microsoft in September, does more than just reduce Yahoos staff:

These names may not mean much to anyone outside engineering circles in Silicon Valley, but they amount to this: If Microsoft has recruited Suchter, it has gotten the heart of Yahoos search technology without the fuss of actually buying it.

Theres one strategy.

So, just for speculations sake, lets pretend Yahoo is getting out of search, whether by outright sale or by Yahoos employee exodus. Whats left for Yahoo?

Some agencies are excited by the prospect of Yahoo focusing on media and display, according to ClickZ:

According to Gregory March, group media director at Wieden + Kennedy, Jerry Yang made the opposite mistake He was a big proponent of technical solutions over content, he said. They couldve been a great media play but they took a step away from that to try and compete with Google. I think Yang stepping away might turn their focus to more of a media business, which is largely based on the quality of the content.

Such a shift would be a tough sell for shareholders, given display ad prices continue to drop while search holds steady. But March notes, If the quality of the content increases and the size of the ad space increases, it could be a viable -path forward-.

Forrester Researchs David Carr weighs in on what Yahoo could do better in the future (though he also mentions search marketing):

• Search marketing. Though its number two, Yahoo has not proven any synergies between owning search technology and an SEM marketplace and display (better targeting, attribution measurement, cross-format campaigns)
• Social media. Flickr, IM, and Answers do not a business make. Opening up social media & other services for mashup is interesting (see BOSS), but Im less sanguine on the social media as air/electricity metaphor than other analysts
• Advertising Platform. So far, Yahoo has been far more successful hand-crafting (i.e., on golf courses) integrated marketing campaigns than it has making a technology/marketplace play. Either Yahoo cant increase the value of remnant inventory via targeting, or it cant prove it to advertisers, or theres no demand for targeting. Theres plenty of demand.

What do you think"is there a future for Yahoo apart from search"and Microsoft?

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