Yahoo CEO criticizes Apple's 'obnoxious control' of content
updated 11:40 am EDT, Thu September 16, 2010
Current state can't last, says exec
Apple "has this obnoxious control" over what ads and content can show on some of its hardware, says Yahoo's Carol Bartz. The CEO criticizes Apple in a new Wall Street Journal interview, taking the company to task for iAd and App Store restrictions which limit many aspects of what can appear on iOS devices. Until recently, companies like Google were officially blocked from mobile advertising, if not in practice.
The situation "won't last," says Bartz, reportedly suggesting that advertisers don't like being told how their ads should look. At present Apple has a heavy hand in the creation of iAds; even when development is eventually turned over to marketers, the company will still have guidelines in place to ensure a consistent aesthetic, regardless of whether or not it matches an advertiser's intentions. Yahoo, meanwhile, is said to be pursuing new ad formats of its own, though whether iOS is involved is unmentioned.
Taking a more positive tone, Bartz also cites Apple as an example of how to turn a failing company around. Apple's market cap was "dead A flat" for years after Steve Jobs returned as CEO, Bartz observes. "You don't come in and do fairy dust. You upgrade technology, you see what drives engagement," she says.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2007
It's amazing how a company like Yahoo
has the gall to tell Apple how to operate or even concern itself about Apple's policies. They need to be more concerned about running their own business. First of all, there is the choice of the advertisers to not choose to put ads on Apple devices. Second of all, Apple may learn what works and what doesn't work and over time change it attitudes on control of ads. It would seem that Apple is trying to present ads consistently to users and I don't see what is the problem with that. Every company has their own ways of doing business and Apple is no exception. These sub-par companies that are critical of Apple's "walled garden" should show by example of how their methods are that much better than Apple's methods.