Most people are familiar with the saying, “Second Place is the First Loser”. The goal of every business, sports teams, and individual is to be number one. Being on top is a great accomplishment. However society influences us to believe that there can only be one winner. Is second place really the first loser?

There has been a lot of news in the Industry about Yahoo lately. The most recent being Microsoft Corp. making an unsolicited $44.6 billion cash and stock bid for Yahoo on Friday, February 1, 2008. Yahoo recently announced their plan to layoff 1,000 workers due to a 23% decrease in profits from 2006. Yahoo reported a fourth-quarter profit of $205.7 million down from $268.7 million. It’s obvious that Yahoo continues to lose its stance next to Google. Google captured nearly all of the search growth in the fourth quarter of 2007. When comparing fourth quarter 2006 to 2007, Yahoo’s market share dropped by 25%, falling from 24.1% to 17.9% of total search advertising dollars. Google, however, increased its presence, going from a 70.5% to a 76.6% share. By now, everyone has either heard about or discussed the fact that Yahoo should step out of search and outsource that function to its top competitor. Google has won, so why should Yahoo even compete?

Yes, being number one is a goal of every company, but being number two in a dynamic industry, is still a great accomplishment! Many users prefer to use Yahoo over Google. Although Yahoo’s market share doesn’t come close to Google’s – it is still a valid place for users to search.

I enjoy being given a choice! I am not a big fan of monopolies of any sort. What if we only had one type of soda, airline, or shirt to wear? Things would be monotonous and boring! Better yet, what if we only had one cable or internet provider? That particular provider would have zero competition, which in turn would result in astronomical prices and limited options.

As a Client Strategist, I tend to use Google most of the time when I search, but I still like to keep my options open and search on other engines every now and then. People are different, and enjoy different things. Competition is healthy for the economy. Therefore, there will always be room for second place players.

Don’t give up Yahoo, I still believe in you!

Election year in the United States is always an exciting time of patriotism, debate, passion and controversy. It is a time when the nation is supposed to come together to select a leader, a mentor, and a role model. For years, election campaigns have been ruled by an overpowering amount of television advertisements. Television advertisements have always played an important role by providing a way for the candidates to express their beliefs, their goals, their plan of action, and their reasoning behind why they are better than their competitors. It has always been a great way for politicians to reach millions of Americans in the hopes of acquiring the highest amount of votes. However, television hasn’t allowed fellow Americans the opportunity to express their feelings and ask the questions that they needed to know….at least not until this past year.

The July 2007 democratic debate was one of the most talked about topics of last year. YouTube and CNN created a new debate format in which voters sent in video questions to be answered in televised format. This allowed everyone the opportunity to ask a question to a future president. The floor wasn’t just open to reporters anymore; it was open to everyone, young and old. It opened up a whole new perspective to the presidential candidates. Social Media is the people’s voice! There is so much potential for social media to become a decisive tool for the politicians. If the politicians are able to hear the voice of the people, they can modify their campaigns to reflect what the people are looking for in a leader. Social media is also a great way to connect with the younger demographic.

A recent article posted by MediaPost, discusses how competing old/new media alliances including CNN and YouTube, MTV and MySpace, ABC News and Facebook have promised to change the structure of the typical election year by mashing up traditional TV news with the social media capabilities of the Internet. Pew Research Center stated that 42% of people ranging from 18 to 29 regularly learn about the presidential campaign from the Internet.

A frightening aspect of politics has become its ability to divide rather than unite. Republican vs. Democrat. Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice, etc. The list goes on and on. Rather than bringing people together, presidential elections have tended to cause the nation to select a political party, a strict set of beliefs, and a stance against anyone who disagrees. Yet, with the introduction of social media into the election, it has allowed people to create an open dialogue with each other.

It is my prediction that social media will be more heavily used in this year’s presidential campaigns. It will help encourage more citizens, especially younger ones, to vote and participate in this year’s election. This is the first year, where the “ordinary” voter can be heard if we choose to partake. Social Media makes it easier for all of us. Go forth and find a social community to participate in. Let your voice be heard and make a difference!

This December the term ‘Blog’ will celebrate its tenth birthday. It was this month back in 1997 where Jorn Barger started this site ‘Robot Wisdom Weblog’ that served as a daily log of interesting web links published in chronological order.

Two years later in 1999 online journal author Peter Merholz took Jorn Barger’s word “weblog” and split it into the phrase “We blog.” Blog soon became shorthand for weblog, and blogging was born.

‘Short’ Blog Time Line

1999: Blogger was founded as one of the first internet communities providing free blogs.

2002: The launch of Technorati, one of the first blog search engines, making it possible for people to track blog conversations on a continuous basis.

2004: The launch of Flickr, a photo-sharing community that helps popularize photo blogging.

2005: Garrett M. Graff becomes the first blogger to receive credentials for the daily White House briefing.

2006: Research report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project estimate that 12 million U.S. adults publish their own blogs.

2007: Technorati reports it is tracking more than 112 million blogs worldwide.

Happy Birthday ‘Blog’!