While up-and-coming search engines like StartPage and DuckDuckGo continue to strive toward higher market shares, veteran sites like Yahoo rethink the future. Since new CEO Marissa Mayer took the reigns of Yahoo, the company looks rejuvenated and ready for change. Several startup acquisitions later, Yahoo embodies just about as much media savviness as ever before, from its Tumblr purchase to revamped interface and new teammate Qwiki. It’s clear Yahoo wants to support a variety of internet marketing programs, not just search and email.
In a recent transaction, Yahoo announced it purchased Qwiki, the iPhone application that turns users’ pictures, music and videos into slideshow videos. The exact terms of the agreement were not disclosed immediately, but AllThingsD estimates the purchase price at $40 million to $50 million.
In an official blog post, Yahoo insisted it will support the Qwiki app and that the company’s employees would help the search engine reimagine storytelling.
Since July 2012, Mayer has organized 15 company acquisitions, bolstering Yahoo’s network and media prowess. As the search market becomes more convoluted and complex, with most users’ eyes on Google, Yahoo’s push toward other frontiers see smarter by the day. Perhaps Yahoo sees Qwiki as the next competitor to applications like Vine and Instagram. Either way, the newly acquired iPhone program further emphasizes the importance of mobile technology, especially social video content in today’s fast-paced market.
Content marketing professionals who have video on their minds should keep an eye on Qwiki – it could prove valuable for reaching select audiences. More, Yahoo’s drive to develop new service extensions shows the company has no plans of becoming irrelevant, and that its CEO has a picture of what she wants the search engine company to become. Mayer is pushing for a new beginning to Yahoo, and it’s working.
