For many, it would be among the first websites they ever visited. In an era before Google, it was often seen as the place to search. And tomorrow, Yahoo! will turn 10 years old.
The site's founders have been talking to AP about the growth of the company - from a college hobby to a multi-billion dollar firm employing more than 7,600 people. Jerry Yang and David Filo still own just over a tenth of the company between them - that alone makes them worth almost $5bn.
While it wasn't the first commercial success of the internet, it was one of the earliest. Netscape was quicker off the mark, but Yahoo! is still around today. "People gave us no chance of success 10 years ago," Filo said. "We have a lot of competition as always, but now we have got ourselves in a leadership position where our future success is really up to us."
Even the dot-com crash couldn't sink this site. The company's value slumped - to $4.6bn at one point - but a shake-up and the creation of new subscription services are credited with turning it around. Technology industry analyst Rob Enderle said: "Yahoo really defined an era. They are the ones who set the tone for the Internet." And it looks like they'll be continuing to play a part in its development for many years yet.
View: The full AP interview
View: Yahoo!
