Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Anything Google Can Do, Yahoo! Can Do Better

By Anders Bylund – Updated Apr 6, 2017 at 1:41AM

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services. Become a Motley Fool member today to get instant access to our top analyst recommendations, in-depth research, investing resources, and more. Learn More

Google gave up on its note-taking application. Now, Yahoo! steps in to one-up Big G.

Remember the Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Notebook tool? It's a handy way to organize your online research notes, republish them as blog posts, and generally massage your Google search results into something digestible. Don't get too used to it -- it's a dead tool walking.

The tool still works, but Google isn't developing it anymore. It's one of many useful Googly tools that met their doom in the past year's belt-tightening efforts.

If you're addicted to Google Notebook, you're going to love what Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) is doing. And if you've never seen that research tool but use Yahoo! Search on occasion, you might get the bug. Anything Google Notebook could do, Yahoo! Search Pad can do better.

The notepad will be on by default when you use Yahoo!'s search service. It will try to autodetect when you're doing research around a topic, and then start logging your favorite search results and Web clips under that heading. From there's, it's easy to send out links to Facebook or Twitter, or to Yahoo!'s own Del.icio.us bookmarking tool.

It's the "on by default" aspect that tells me that Yahoo! really wants this service to get some traction. "Default" is Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) favorite marketing tool, after all. IAC's (NASDAQ:IACI) Ask.com has nothing like this note-taking feature, and neither does Bing. Like I said, Google gave up on its Notebook, to the dismay of fellow Fool Tim Beyers. Maybe he'll convert to Yahoo! Search Pad now. Or perhaps there's an app for this on his beloved Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone.

If successful, this always-on helper should make Yahoo!'s search pages more sticky. It's an eyeball magnet for millions of college students on the prowl for digestible facts, nicely presented. Yahoo! may have a winner on its hands here, though I suspect that it'll take a few months before we see any results in search traffic shares or ad revenue.

Will Yahoo! succeed where Google swung-and-a-missed? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments box below.

Further Foolishness:

Google is a Motley Fool Rule Breakers pick. Apple is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation. Microsoft is a Motley Fool Inside Value selection. Try any of our Foolish newsletters today, free for 30 days.

Fool contributor Anders Bylund owns shares in Google but he holds no other position in any of the companies discussed here. You can check out Anders' holdings or a concise bio if you like, and The Motley Fool is investors writing for investors.

Invest Smarter with The Motley Fool

Join Over 1 Million Premium Members Receiving…

  • New Stock Picks Each Month
  • Detailed Analysis of Companies
  • Model Portfolios
  • Live Streaming During Market Hours
  • And Much More
Get Started Now

Stocks Mentioned

Microsoft Corporation Stock Quote
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT
$237.92 (-1.27%) $-3.06
Alphabet Inc. Stock Quote
Alphabet Inc.
GOOGL
$98.74 (-1.40%) $-1.40
Apple Inc. Stock Quote
Apple Inc.
AAPL
$150.43 (-1.51%) $-2.31
Match Group, Inc. Stock Quote
Match Group, Inc.
IAC

*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.

Related Articles

Motley Fool Returns

Motley Fool Stock Advisor

Market-beating stocks from our award-winning analyst team.

Stock Advisor Returns
339%
 
S&P 500 Returns
109%

Calculated by average return of all stock recommendations since inception of the Stock Advisor service in February of 2002. Returns as of 09/24/2022.

Discounted offers are only available to new members. Stock Advisor list price is $199 per year.

Premium Investing Services

Invest better with The Motley Fool. Get stock recommendations, portfolio guidance, and more from The Motley Fool's premium services.