Yahoo! to the Max: An Extreme Searcher Guide

Citation

Hughes, H. (2008), "Yahoo! to the Max: An Extreme Searcher Guide", Online Information Review, Vol. 32 No. 4, pp. 537-538. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520810897494

Yahoo! to the Max offers a thorough overview of the content and features of the Yahoo! search engine. As such, it is more useful as a reference guide than a step‐by‐step learning tool.

The opening chapters offer a detailed description of the Yahoo! homepage, the various Yahoo! search and communication tools and their uses. The concepts of browsing and searching, and the differing approaches offered by Yahoo! Directory and Yahoo! Search are briefly outlined. Interestingly, this is explained in light of Yahoo!'s ongoing transition since 1994 from a web directory reliant on competitor's software (successively Inktomi, Alta Vista and Google) to an independent web portal supported by its own extensive web database launched in 2004.

Chapter 3 introduces the distinctive “personalisable” options available to users through My Yahoo! This paves the way for the subsequent chapters that focus on key personal services such as Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Shopping. Yahoo!'s strength in online communication – via Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, chat and message boards, etc. – is also promoted. (However, the user's trade‐off between “free” service and marketing attention is glossed over in a few words).

This book reflects Yahoo!'s focus on personal (especially financial and commercial) needs and leisure interests. Its coverage of educational applications is surprisingly limited, and even Yahooligans! (a specialist children's directory) rates only a brief mention. Its usefulness as a practical learning tool is also limited, since instructions for navigating Yahoo! are brief and tend to be buried in the descriptive text.

As the author readily acknowledges, Yahoo! – like the web generally – is constantly expanding and changing. Inevitably a book such as this, which provides a snapshot of a search engine at a particular stage of its development, has a limited lifespan. Given its 2005 publication date, it is unable to keep up with recent developments such as the Yahoo! Search Blog and Yahoo!'s acquisition of the del.icio.us social bookmarking tool. The need for constant updating is addressed to a degree through the author's Extreme Searcher's Web Page (www.extremesearcher.com).

In Yahoo! to the Max Randolph Hock presents a far‐reaching but largely uncritical view of Yahoo! The book is informative, logically arranged and includes well‐chosen screenshots that contribute to understanding. Unfortunately, the somewhat lacklustre writing style and overall presentation of the book fail to convey the dynamic and sociable character of the Yahoo! web portal. Logging on to Yahoo! and following Hock's oft‐repeated catchcry to “click everywhere!” would seem the most effective and rewarding way to explore Yahoo!'s full potential.