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Would you buy Yahoo!? Would investors invest in libraries?

Yahoo’s Three-Year Plan: Grow Revenues 73 Percent By Focusing on Display Ads, Mobile, and Better Search By Erick Schonfeld on Yahoo
“Today, (March 18) Yahoo filed a presentation detailing its three-year financial plan that management gave to its board of directors in December, before Microsoft’s unsolicited bid. Yahoo is projecting revenues after traffic acquisition costs (TAC)—i.e., what it shares with other Websites that run Yahoo ads—to grow from $5.1 billion in 2007 to $8.8 billion in 2010.”
It’s an interesting review of the insider thinking in the search space at a time of extreme change. I undertsand that this was done about December 2007. Of course, the stock and currency markets have changed quite a bit since then. I wonder if Yahoo! is worth less from the shareholder POV for their delaying tactics. Given that a few are suing I think a some stockholders think so.
This is an interesting example of the arguments put forward to investors and bankers in the search and content space. I think it’s worth reading.
I wonder if libraries can we do a similar presentation about our value to our investors (the public for instance). What is our marker – our impact measure – not revenue but circulation, visits, websites hits, or more? What is the library’s real ROI and how do we compare across types, branches, systems, consortia, etc.? What is your growth plan for through 2010?
Stephen

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Posted on: March 18, 2008, 1:53 pm Category: Uncategorized

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  1. Laurie Putnam said

    Anyone interested in this topic might want to check out Tactical Philanthropy, a blog by philanthropic investment advisor Sean Stannard-Stockton. Sean frequently addresses the subject of how to measure the value of philanthropic investments and the impact of nonprofit services (see http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/category/impact-measurement ). While his focus is on nonprofit organizations, many of the questions he raises are relevant to libraries — and highly thought provoking.