Ex-Yahooligan Ravi\nDronamraju noted a couple of months ago (I've only just seen it) a subtle but\nimportant point about Yahoo's new Ajaxified homepage:

\"This homepage dropped the concept of website directory completely. I guess the\ntransformation is complete. Yahoo! is now more about showing people in and around yahoo!\nnetwork and not about showing people what’s most useful on the web. Yahoo! is the\nnew AOL of the web…\"
\n(emphasis mine)

I think the comparison to 90's AOL is a little unfair. Yahoo is using social tools\nlike Y! Answers and MyWeb, along with web services and its developer network, to make\nexternal content an important part of its service. Also as one of Ravi's commenters\npointed out, search long ago replaced the directory as the primary means of content\ndiscovery on the Web.

Nevertheless, it is an interesting point that the new Yahoo homepage links\npredominantly to Yahoo properties - rather than to external sources, as it did in the\nold days. The directory service is still there, but has been de-emphasized on the\nhomepage:

Then:

\nThe directory was a section on the homepage (albeit near the bottom)...and

\n...it was also featured as a search option

Now:

\nThe directory is still one of the options hanging off the search box - but isn't\notherwise featured on the homepage

Perhaps it's just a sign of the times: directories of external websites are out, Yahoo media\nproperties are in.

via Toni\nSchneider