Yahoo is on an acquisition spree and guess what- mobile talent is king. Earlier this year Yahoo acquired Jybe- a personalized recommendation app, Snip.it, -a social content curation site, Summly-a news-summarizing app, Astrid-to-do manager and today two more apps: MileWise- travel rewards app and GoPolloGo-a social polling app. Summly has already been integratef into Yahoo iPhone app to help users read news better.
Both services will be shut down, and staff will be integrated into Yahoo’s New York mobile team. Yahoo did not reveal the terms of the deals, nor how the companies’ respective technologies might be used at Yahoo.
Marrisa Meyer’s business strategy is to boost Yahoo mobile services because she believes Yahoo can recover and compete again with a strong mobile presence. The talent hunt continues. Her ultimate focus is to build beautiful mobile products to win customers again.
In Yahoo’s Q1 2013 earnings press release , Marissa said “We saw continued stability in our business, strengthened our team, and started the year with fast execution against our products and partnerships, we are moving quickly to roll out beautifully designed, more intuitive experiences for our users. I’m confident that the improvements we’re making to our products will set up the Company for long-term growth.”
She further stated that the company’s focus is shifting. She now wants to focus on “building beautiful products and executing well against Yahoo business strategy.” If Yahoo builds beautiful products, it will start seeing more engagement, which will lead to revenue and eventually growth, she said.
There are rumors about the possible acquisition of the Hulu by Yahoo, the popular TV shows and movies streaming service. Yahoo has recently held meetings with Hulu.
Read all about how Marissa Mayer intends to turn Yahoo around here.
Yahoo in the long-term will be shifting its efforts to build out its mobile offerings to gain a bigger market share of the growing need for mobile products.
