As Yahoo learned with Yahoo Answers, presenting algorithmic search results with those offered by real-life humans is a challenge. That same challenge exists in blending algo results with those from Twitter and Facebook. As more content sources begin to become part of a one-box search experience, presenting them to consumers in a navigationally simple UI, will take the search world 10 blue links to 100 blue links. Lastly, I can see the merits of digging meaningful nuggets out of Twitter but still don’t understand what Facebook updates provide as value-add to search results. When I type in the search query “health clubs” do I really want to know that someone on the other side of the globe is at his health club? As my teenaged daughter would say, that’s TMI.

Oh, did I forget to mention that the new Kindle “global edition” will be powered by AT&T. That large groan you heard was from Sprint, Amazon’s current wireless partner who powers the mysterious “Whispersync” for current Kindle owners. AT&T  has a network of global partners who come together to provide AT&T customers (somewhat costly) global cell phone reach. The difference here is that Amazon foots the bill for the bandwidth (at least they do upfront) used to download books. In the case of downloading newspapers (which are larger files sent daily), the cost is transparently passed on to consumers who pay about $10 per month for each newspaper subscription.

Looking at this announcement through Amazon’s eyes, this announcement has (at least) three missions here:

Ward off the growing list of competitors (iRex, Sony, Plastic Logic) who have announced or plan to announce new ereaders that come complete with wireless partners and who have their sights set on international distribution.

1. By gaining a dominant position in ereader sales, establish its proprietary ereader document format, .azw as the standard for the ebook market as it battles against .epub, the open global ebook standard.
2. Take some of the steam out of the hype out of Apple’s non-announcement of a tablet device. The latest “public rumors” indicate that a device will be in the market at the end of Q1, 2010. Having the Kindle, which is priced about half of the rumored Apple tablet price, into global channels before the first Apple tablet hits the market would be a strategic advantage to Amazon. Publishers may be pragmatic and lend greater support via more titles to a lower priced globally distributed device than a rumor no matter how cool.

But, things are not that easy. Even a lower cost, globally supported Kindle does not deliver a viable newspaper or magazine experience. Also, powerful global carriers such as BT, Vodafone, Telecom Italia, Orange, Telia, etc.. will not be satisfied with revenue sharing deals with AT&T in supporting its network for Kindle downloads; shortly, we will see major carriers outside the U.S. forge relationships with ereader manufacturers for local or inter-regional support (pan European, for example) as well as retail channel support.

Amazon’s announcement indicates the company is well aware of the market dynamics that threaten its dominance. Will Amazon have the tactical prowess to remain a market leader supporting a proprietary ebook format and offering a device that is a non-starter for newspapers and magazines? At this point, the answer is no, but Amazon often forces us to expect the unexpected, so stay tuned.

I fail to see the wow. The primary change on the home page is a customizable rail/column that allows the consumer to add his or her favorite pages/sites/social networks to provide a one-stop panoramic snapshot of everything that’s important in one’s world. The truth is, customization works best if those sites you want to add are either Yahoo properties or those (such as All Things Digital) who have formatted their content for customizable viewing. The “apps,” as they are called, are in three flavors: Yahoo sites, partner sites (or perhaps those who have worked to make their content suited for preview) and your favorites. A box allows individuals to add their favorites to the front page, but adding my blog and Twitter resulted in a major fail as these personalized add-ons failed to load previews. Adding Facebook, which looks to be pre-programmed, kept giving me a message to log in, but even after logging in, it didn’t work. Makes me wonder if others are having the same issue.

Beyond the customizable issues, why can’t the search box at the top of the page be customized so I can focus on the categories I search most: videos, blogs, news. I’d like to move image search off the main window and add one of my own preferences. And what’s with that little box at the top next to my name that asks for my status? Who sees that, and how do I see others in my network? And, lastly, if Bartz says that video is important to Yahoo, why isn’t there a single video window on the new homepage?

There’s wow and then there’s WOW. In the case of Yahoo’s new homepage, I think it falls short of both.

The cognoscente’s meme of the day is whether or not harsh words on Twitter cut off Sasha Baron Cohen’s “Bruno’s” U.S. box office hopes at the knees. Time’s noted film critic Richard Corliss believes that a decline in opening day revenue to the following day was due in part to bad cyberword of mouth. That is, a flood of movie going Tweeters expressed less than favorable reviews of the film. Given the fact that the average filmgoer cares less about what professional critics say and more what their friends tell them, bad word of mouth can be especially damaging when it is shared in real time. In the old days (maybe 15 years ago) a crummy movie could make it through the weekend with box office intact until folks met at the water cooler on Monday morning.

Pundits who have an excessive amount of time on their hands are combing through Twitter logs to validate or nullify this theory. I believe even if there is a kernel of truth to the “Bruno” mess, there’s a great lesson to be learned for anyone who has a product or service to market or sell: in the Web 2.0 world, a marketing campaign only starts once a product is released. Understanding social buzz and (more importantly) knowing how to react will give new life to the phrase “expect the unexpected.” All the social media monitoring tools and services won’t do a film studio or soft drink company one iota of good if they are not equipped to respond to bad worth of mouth with some agility.

Anyone can plan for success; planning for disaster is another thing. As Monty Python says, “No one plans for the Spanish Inquisition.” Somehow, I sense “Bruno” may be up there with an inquisition.

News stories stated that Google is looking to support a variety of reading venues, ranging from PCs to dedicated readers, implicitly inferring it will more fully support the universal e-reader standard, .epub and perhaps fully rendered .pdfs as opposed to Amazon who supports unprotected books in Mobipocket format as well as its own proprietary DRM-ed format, .azw. Amazon supports .pdfs across its Kindle family of devices, but there are some rendering issues noted for files in that Adobe format.

Google will not likely build a device, but would encourage carrier partners such as T-Mobile, who currently offer smartphones powered by Google’s Anrdoid OS, to distribute devices (smartphones, dedicated readers) that act as a showcase for Google’s ebook service. Would such a move force Apple’s hand to move more quickly on its rumored media tablet?

Google, as an ebook enabler, does put pressure on those powers in the emerging digital warehouse space such as Libre Digital, Ingram Content Group (the new name for Ingram Digital), Publishing Technologies and even Scribd. With Android, Google could open up its platform to developers who could create compelling reading experiences suited for a variety of devices and different consumer groups. Again, such a move puts pressure on Apple and its plans to offer an e-reading ecosystem.

At the end of the day, it will be publishers who will have the biggest say in who controls new digital distribution scenarios. If there’s any company publishers are more leery of than Amazon, it’s Google. Is the devil they know better they know than the devil they don’t? If this distrust remains potent enough, emerging players in the digital distribution space and perhaps Adobe, a name synonymous with publishing tools, may be best positioned to take book, newspaper and magazine publishers to the promised digital land.

*Amazon’s Kindle and Kindle 2 are gaining early signs of traction in the e-reader marketplace selling, by some estimates, around 300,000 units
*The Kindle (a single function device) is expensive at $379, lessening the likelihood it will be a widely popular consumer device
*The Kindle is pretty good for books, but is poor for reading newspapers and magazines
*Book, newspaper and magazine publishers and distributors are getting nervous about Amazon’s power, so they are working on devices of their own to compete with Amazon as well as provide better newspaper and magazine reading experience. Include Hearst and Barnes & Noble in this mix
*Apple is rumored to be making a device that may or may not be a new iPhone that facilitates online reading experiences
*The Kindle App for the iPhone is among the hottest Apps for the device
*Newspapers are closing their doors left and right (the Boston Globe appears to be next)
*Consumer magazine ad lineage is down
*Amazon is holding a press event on May 6th to announce a new device that is rumored to be better for newspapers, magazines and textbooks. (Thus making my new purchase a paperweight)
*And…The media (that is really press and bloggers) has proclaimed e-readers to be the story du jour

How will this movie end? Here’s a hint: given that consumer adoption of any of this has yet to take hold in any meaningful way, I’d say the story shows promise, but the third act is still a work in progress.

The addition of Lexcycle does a few things for Amazon, a company slowly but surely gobbling up pieces of the offline and online publishing value chain. Stanza, a better and more popular e-reading app for mobile devices than the current Kindle iPhone app, will strengthen Amazon’s position in the mobile world which (at present) is used as a companion channel for its e-reader. Since the mobile device is perhaps better suited for newspaper and magazine consumption, I wouldn’t put it past Lexcycle to develop an app for both the Kindle as well as the mobile phone that preserves the newspaper experience for consumers on the go. At present, the Kindle does a poor job in rendering newspapers and magazines.

Lexcycle is beta testing a Stanza for the desktop which looks to provide an elegant PC or Mac-based reading experience. Again, that’s not been Amazon’s strong suit but one in the arsenal of companies such as Olive Software, Zinio and Libre Digital (under its Newsstand product). Microsoft also has been dabbling in this space, partnering with The New York Times in creating a desktop e-reader. Offering publishers—and in this case there’s a heavy emphasis on newspapers and magazines—a multichannel distribution opportunity to include e-readers, mobile devices and computer desktops. Such a gambit puts Amazon in even more rarified air than it current occupies. Also, if the netbook craze continues to gain momentum, that device becomes an interesting venue for e-reading, especially given its internet connectivity, affording publishers the ability to update content as needed.

Amazon’s stockpiling of essential publishing value chain components is perhaps book publishers’ greatest nightmare. One company practically controlling distribution and consumption in an emerging digital channel is a throwback to such industrial giants as Carnegie and Ford. It sure is a story that would make a great book; Amazon is likely to write it, publishing it, create the e-book and sell it for top dollar.

No argument with closing down Geocities. In fact, in a recent internal research call, we asked on another if anyone knew if Geocities was still around. That says it all. Geocities was neither fish nor fowl in that it not as easy to set up as a blog and not as robust or valuable as a simple templated Web page with its own domain hosted by a low-cost provider such as Go Daddy. Yahoo’s efforts to spin Geocities from a loosely formed community into a revenue-generating business failed around 2001 when members rebelled against migrating from free to paid hosting model. From that point on, Geocities lost its mojo as web community. From the spin control POV, Yahoo must devise a way to placate those (according to compete.com) 13 million users who visited Geocities in March.

Cup half full: shutting down underperforming businesses is proof that Bartz is prepared to make the difficult decisions needed to get Yahoo back on its feet. Cup half empty: Such moves may be too little too late. Cup status undecided: What major product news will Yahoo make to showcase its ability to see in the future while fixing past mistakes?