Ask.com Changes Focus - Whither Ask?
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Navneet Kaushal interviewed Ask spokesman Nicholas Graham for Searchnewz. Graham stated that the rumors about Ask becoming oriented towards women were wrong, and that “There is no such thing as going women oriented…We have a very loyal user base…So we will be focusing more on our core audience.” So many news sources have reported on the specific change in focus, however, that it seems more likely Graham is backpedaling in the face of strong blogger and industry journalist reaction.
Even without the change in focus, one would be right to be concerned for Ask’s future. A glance at the larger search engine market reveals Microsoft struggling for market share, and willing to go as far as to attempt a hostile takeover of Yahoo to get a toehold. It’s worth noting that if the purchase goes through, Yahoo would be by far the largest acquisition Microsoft has ever made. Yahoo, of course, is experiencing problems of its own; it will be laying off something on the order of 1000 people. Even Google saw a weaker than expected performance this quarter, amid lessening demand for ads. How could Ask not be affected by the cold winds blowing in the marketplace?
But Ask faces more problems than its rivals. Its parent company is in turmoil. Barry Diller, head of IAC, plans to split the organization into five companies. John Malone and Liberty Media are trying to keep Diller from going through with these plans. As Paula J. Hane of Information Today wrote, “Given the chaos and distraction, it’s probably not surprising that Ask.com suffered what has to be viewed as mishandled and disorganized corporate communications around these changes.”
These changes have certainly affected Ask, with long-time executives leaving. Jim Safka stepped into the CEO position just this year, replacing Jim Lanzone. Also leaving around the same time as Lanzone was Michael Ferguson, senior user-experience analyst at Ask since the very beginning. Perhaps the exodus is something of a blessing in disguise, giving Ask a better chance to start its new direction with a clean slate.
Whether it will survive in the market with its new approach remains to be seen, however. Choosing to focus on its core market rather than trying to be all things to all people makes good economic sense. But with all of the excellent experiments Ask conducted, and the new products and ways to search it offered, I can’t help but shake my head. I will miss seeing the little search engine that could taking on the giants in the field.
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