Myspace Tom, Nyan Cat, Epic Meal Time, Napster have all risen and fallen—spectacularly in some cases—over the last 30 years on the internet. But amongst it all has been Yahoo, though in a variety of different guises, it has to be said. Here, John McNerney, managing director of AUSEA at Yahoo, gives his take on the company’s longevity in this most fleeting of sectors.
Thirty years is a long time on the internet. We’ve seen platforms rise and fall, trends come and go, (and then come again), and the way people experience the digital world shift dramatically.
To make it to 30 as an internet business is a unique feat—but that’s what Yahoo has done this month. And for me, and millions of people around the world, Yahoo has been a constant of the turbulent digital age.
Yahoo was one of the first sites I remember visiting—way back when ‘going online’ meant making a conscious effort to make sure no-one was on the phone, then getting to the computer room, firing up the desktop PC (Intel Inside) and listening to the modem make a cacophony of noise as it attempted to load up Internet Explorer and boom, you were away.
It’s a long way from taking out your phone and checking your digitally-delivered notifications we take for granted today.
My first ever email address was a Yahoo Mail one. I’m not going to share what it was—it’s too embarrassing.
That teenager in 1998 never imagined for a moment that he’d one day end up working at the business driving this technological marvel—less still that he’d be there for 15 years and counting.
Yep—in March 2010 I first walked through the doors of Yahoo in London as an account manager on the Ad Exchange team. If 30 years is a long time on the internet, 15 years is a really long time to be with one business in the modern work environment—especially with everything we’ve all been through in that time.
Yet long tenures are actually quite commonplace at Yahoo. There are several of my colleagues across the region who have notched double-digits in their own Yahoo careers. So what is it about the business that keeps people bleeding purple?
It’s not as if it has been all smooth sailing—there have been some massive challenges we’ve had to overcome as well as several name changes as the business passed through some different ownership structures (you might have some Oath or Verizon Media swag somewhere in your home right now—I sure do).
But there are a few things that remain as true today as when Jerry Yang and Dave Filo first set out to index web pages so people could find them easily before search engines were a thing. One is that ethos of being a guide for people across the open web—it’s something we’ve always stuck true to, through our editorial output with Yahoo News, Yahoo Sports and Yahoo Finance as well as our adtech offering, Yahoo DSP.
Putting people at the centre has always been the secret sauce—whether it’s in, the products we build, how we work or the culture we’ve created. It’s about asking: how do we deliver something that truly matters? And that thinking doesn’t stop at the office doors. One of the things I love most about Yahoo is how we show up beyond the business to the community—supporting Australian charity Musicians Making a Difference (MMAD) and their work with at-risk youth, getting hands-on with Ronald McDonald House Charities, and helping brands create ads that actually do some good.
For me it’s a way of showing up, being open, honest and friendly—all things I’ve experienced throughout my time at Yahoo, I know can be in short supply in some places. No matter how dark the days, it’s always been a beacon of light for me to come to the office (or connect with my colleagues online when we weren’t allowed in the office)—there’s always a laugh, a smile and a sympathetic ear if you need to get something off your chest.
Ask anyone who has worked here over the years and they’ll tell you—once a ‘Yahoo’, always a ‘Yahoo’. I think a big part of that spirit comes from the knowledge that we are all entrusted with something foundational and important for our most modern essential service—the internet.
If you’d told 2010 John that we’d be able to serve dynamic ads on billboards and TV screens around the world he’d have laughed at how ridiculously far-fetched it sounded. If you’d shown him the way we’re able to find and connect to audiences today he’d have bitten your hand off to offer that to his clients.
I still remember working on the first-ever programmatic connection globally—linking Invite Media (now DV360) and the Right Media Exchange, the first programmatic exchange. At the time, it felt like such a massive leap forward, a glimpse into the future of advertising. Being part of that moment and seeing how far we’ve come since has been incredible.
It can feel like these are all things that just happened to us as we went about, taking them for granted—it’s only when you stop to take stock you see how far we’ve come. And let’s be clear—this isn’t about dwelling on the past—we’re in rude health and honestly, I’ve never been more excited about the direction this business is heading in. And it’s not just the product roadmap.
We’re at a turning point on the internet—where shifts in consumer trust and the rapid rise of AI are pushing businesses to get creative and rethink how they operate.
But trust is at the core of Yahoo’s DNA—for millions of people it’s a brand that evokes good feelings and has an imbued goodwill. That’s something everyone who has worked here has worked hard to cultivate, and something I am incredibly proud of.
As we go forward we’re going to continue to build on that position of trust, and work hard to help our partners and our users navigate what feels like quite choppy seas right now.
Will I still be here in another 15 years? I wouldn’t be surprised. For now, we’re keeping our heads down and getting on with the business of making our partners as good as they can be.
The future’s bright, the future’s purple.
