American History 1988
Chapter 339 - 328 Yahoo!

Chapter 339: Chapter 328 Yahoo!

Facing the inquisitive looks from David and Yang Zhiyuan, Dean’s response was very straightforward.

"If this Yang’s World Wide Web Guide commercializes in the future, I must have priority to own one-third of its shares.

Besides the search engine and server conditions I just mentioned, I can also help you promote this webpage."

After hearing Dean’s terms, David shrugged at Yang Zhiyuan, who looked utterly baffled.

"Dean, perhaps we weren’t clear enough just now, the World Wide Web Guide is actually free..."

"I know~" Dean said with an expression of anticipation, "That’s why I’m talking about when it commercializes in the future."

"But there’s no possibility of it making a profit, we haven’t even thought about that," Yang Zhiyuan quickly added.

Indeed, from start to finish, they had never intended to charge for the website.

Their compilation of the web directory was merely a hobby outside of their doctoral dissertation work.

It was a hobby, like joining the Frisbee Club or indulging in horror movies.

Their goal was to seek fun, not to be obsessed with making a profit.

Just look at the current World Wide Web Guide page, aside from some common websites.

They also listed some of their favorite quirky sites, like Brian’s Lava Lamps, Quedre’s Armadillo, and so on...

These were sites that most people had never even heard of, but Dean could sense their style.

"Information sharing is free, I agree with that.

Just like Price’s List, it provides various life services for ordinary users without charge, as well as local information browsing.

Do you know who owns the Price’s List website?" Dean looked at Yang Zhiyuan.

The latter was initially stunned, then suddenly realized.

"Oh~, Price... so..." Yang Zhiyuan looked at Dean and then turned his gaze toward David.

"I didn’t tell you?" David shrugged innocently.

"Of course~" Yang Zhiyuan said with a face of shock, "We haven’t even stepped out of the Stanford campus in months."

"I thought..." David scratched his head somewhat apologetically, "you would figure it all out just by the name."

To investors in Silicon Valley, who Price’s List belongs to is an open secret.

But for students at school, it’s not something everyone knows.

Because Dean never boasted about it, and John and Simon weren’t going to make a big deal of explaining what the Price on the website’s homepage meant.

So it led to Price’s List being well-known, the wealthy in Silicon Valley knew who was behind it, but many ordinary people didn’t.

All right, having digested this piece of information, Yang Zhiyuan finally confirmed that Dean could resonate with their spirit.

"Although I still don’t understand how the World Wide Web Guide will commercialize in the future, I personally accept such conditions."

Having said that, Yang Zhiyuan turned to look at David Fero by his side, who was even more indifferent.

"You know, this is just my interest.

If it can be turned into a business on the basis of being free, then I have no objections."

"You’re right~" Yang Zhiyuan nodded in agreement.

To them, the terms offered by Dean were already a huge surprise.

They were feeling headache over the eviction notice from Stanford University.

And struggling with the growing workload from sorting the website directory.

But now, they not only had a search engine to improve work efficiency, but even a solution for expensive servers.

As for the promotion mentioned by Dean, frankly speaking, they didn’t care much about it.

Because so far, they didn’t think this web guide would turn into a business.

"Okay, guys~" Dean clapped his hands, "I know you’re still wondering how a free website can have commercial value.

But that’s the magic of the Internet, when your webpage hits exceed one million daily.

Believe me, every venture capitalist here in Silicon Valley will be knocking on your door.

They will try by every means to find the commercial value of your webpage.

Of course, to some extent, I can also play this role.

But before that happens, let’s talk about its promotion."

As he said this, Dean pointed at the computer screen in front of them with his finger.

David and his companions turned to look, still somewhat at a loss.

Helpless, Dean had to be more direct.

"That browser, I have a stake in it."

"Wow~" David and Yang Zhiyuan gaped, "So..."

"Yes, just as you see, every browser needs a homepage.

It used to be Price’s List, but now I find maybe your World Wide Web Guide is more suitable.

Because it helps people quickly get the information they want, like the navigation-style service website I just mentioned.

It can also be called a portal website, the first website people use when they access the Internet."

"Portal website..." David and Yang Zhiyuan repeated the name softly.

It was the first time they had heard this term, but in an instant, it struck a chord with them.

"This is exactly what I want to talk to you about next, website directories are fine.

But comprehensive information services are the future, you should try to provide your own content.

Who knows, one day in the future, this guide website might even have its own journalists."

The future of the website as depicted by Dean left David and Yang Zhiyuan speechless for a long time.

They had never imagined that what they were doing now could reach such a magnitude in the future.

If they didn’t know about Dean’s reputation, Yang Zhiyuan would think he was crazy.

"Maybe, we should first add a search engine to it?" David always refrained from fantasizing about the future.

He tended to act solely based on his own preferences, just like when Byte Company was first established.

He could endure the tedium of coding, even without a single cent in salary.

He could also walk away from a behemoth corporation valued at nearly 20 billion US Dollars whenever he felt tired, without feeling burdened.

Now, he had returned to where he started. Crammed in a dimly-lit trailer room, spending his days accompanied by pizza boxes and computers.

And he did all this simply because it piqued his interest.

Even though his net worth had long surpassed 99% of people, he appeared no different from an average student.

If one were to use the parlance of future generations, David Fero was quite the "hermit."

Dean shrugged. Perhaps, when it came to teaching entrepreneurship, Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists were the best teachers.

"You are right, let’s nail down the search engine first.

That way, when people go online, they’ll first visit our web guide.

Then, from there, they’ll move on to other websites. See, the concept of a portal site is born."

"Cool~" Yang Zhiyuan praised, giving a high five in agreement.

"If there’s nothing else, I should head back now."

Dean, ready to leave, found the cramped trailer intolerable—he couldn’t even stand up straight.

"By the way, how long will it take to update the website?"

"About a week or so, that should be enough," Yang Zhiyuan said confidently.

"We’re also planning to give the website a new name."

"Hmm?" Dean turned his head.

"We’re thinking of calling it Yahoo! What do you think?"

Dean smiled, "Cool~"

...

David and Yang Zhiyuan didn’t go back on their word; they were incredibly efficient.

Just a week later, a brand new Yahoo interface replaced the original site directory.

The purple Yahoo! logo was very distinctive.

And just below it was a very prominent search box, now allowing users to quickly retrieve information on their own.

However, since the site’s catalogue of information was still not copious, the previous directory was kept in place.

Line after line of webpage categories were listed right below the search box.

It was indeed launched at the perfect time, as Explorer 2.0 beta was about to go live.

And Dean kept his promise; he was ready to set Yahoo as the homepage for the Explorer browser.

However, this plan met with protests from Simon and others.

"Dean, tell me, what does ’Price’ in Price’s List mean?

Is our site a collection site for the prices of goods?"

"Hey, Simon, relax~" Dean had to soothe them with his words.

"Price’s List is well-known by now, almost everyone knows about it."

Dean wasn’t exaggerating; one could say Price’s List had as many users as Explorer 1.0.

No, you should add Mosaic and Virginia’s AOL to that count.

At one point, nearly all online channels had Price’s List presence.

The website most familiar to American netizens was definitely Price’s List.

Dean, by controlling internet channels, almost forcibly marketed Price’s List to American netizens for nearly a year.

Under such pervasive information penetration, the number of registered users on Price’s List had long exceeded the ten million mark.

Yes, nearly half of all Americans with internet access were users of Price’s List.

Now in North America, what was the most well-known internet product?

Was it AOL? Or Explorer? Or maybe Mosaic?

No, none of these; Price’s List was the absolute protagonist.

By now, it had already moved far beyond being the dubious subject of advertisers’ trust last year.

With tens of millions of registered users and a nearly household name in big cities.

Price’s List had long escaped its once precarious financial straits.

Every city with a population over 50,000 was generating revenue every day.

Dean had a feeling that Price’s List would bring him a big surprise this year.

But as mentioned before, Price’s List was already famous enough.

Even if Explorer 2.0 continued to use it as the homepage, its user numbers would no longer see exponential growth.

Besides, without Explorer, there was still a dedicated channel for Price’s List on AOL.

Even Mosaic hadn’t taken it down temporarily, so Price’s List still had considerable exposure.

But Yahoo, being new, had to be the homepage as a portal site.

Only this way could it be promoted and become widespread over time.

"But Dean, the number of internet users is also growing,

which means there’s room for growth for Price’s List.

As for how fast the number of internet users is increasing, there are exact numbers from the CIX Alliance, and you’re the one who told me about it."

Simon and John, of course, weren’t satisfied with their current scale of users; look, half the people still didn’t have Price’s List accounts.

"So, Simon~" Dean had a headache from their pestering, "I’ll give Yahoo the homepage, but I can arrange a different spot for Price’s List."

"What spot?" Simon’s eyes lit up.

"A one-click access shortcut." Dean smiled mysteriously, "You’ll know in a couple of days. Explorer 2.0 is about to launch."

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