Yahoo axes AltaVista, Delicious, six others

[Cleo]

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Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from PCWorld.com.

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After announcing Wednesday it would be laying off four percent of its workforce, Yahoo revealed today that it was terminating eight of its Web sites. Sites targeted for "sunsetting" are Delicious, AltaVista, MyBlogLOg, Yahoo Picks, Yahoo Buzz, and Yahoo Bookmarks.

News of the product cuts was leaked in the form of screenshot from an internal webcast aired by the company and posted to Twitter by Eric Marcoullier, the founder of MyBlogLog, the Wall Street Journal reported. MyBlogLog was purchased by Yahoo in 2007 and left to languish. Marcoullier is no longer with the company.

The leaked slide also identifies several Yahoo properties slated for merging. They include Fire Eagle, Yahoo Events, Yahoo People Search and Sideline.

Needless to say, Yahoo wasn't happy about news of its planned actions becoming part of the public domain. In a tweet to Marcoullier, the company's Chief Product Officer Blake Irving vowed vengeance would be swift for whomever leaked the slide. "Can't wait to find out how you got the web cast," he wrote. "Whoever it is, gone!"

After the beans were spilled about the cuts, Yahoo apparently felt compelled to comment on the record on the subject. "Part of our organizational streamlining involves cutting our investment in underperforming or off-strategy products to put better focus on our core strengths and fund new innovation in the next year and beyond," it said in a statement.

"We continuously evaluate and prioritize our portfolio of products and services, and do plan to shut down some products in the coming months such as Yahoo! Buzz, our Traffic APIs, and others," it continued. "We will communicate specific plans when appropriate."