Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer dreamed of a media business that combined the best of both worlds: an in-house editorial staff that would publish pieces that command attention, and a vibrant social network whose users would create content themselves at no cost to the company.
Together, she hoped, they would revive the flagging tech giant’s share of worldwide advertising revenues.
Yet so far, neither has.
As Yahoo announced layoffs of nearly 1,600 global employees on Tuesday, the Sunnyvale firm revealed that it would cut editorial products a sign its attempt at developing a news and lifestyle brand has not paid off.
And in a closely watched earnings call, Mayer avoided talking about the financial performance of Tumblr, Yahoo’s foray into social networking, which came up short of its revenue projection of $100 million.
Mayer still believes in Yahoo’s future as a content hub both for editorial pieces and user-generated posts.