On the Web, where it's so easy to change loyalties, brand coolness means a whole lot. And there's reason to worry about Yahoo's (YHOO) brand coolness. Today, ComScore numbers tell us that the whole of Yahoo -- main site, email, search and everything else -- is no longer the number one Web destination, as it has been for quite some time. Google (GOOG) has snatched that spot for the first time. (Nielson Online already had Google passing Yahoo.)

Not only that, but there are other signs of trouble for the Yahoo brand. One writer surveyed a group of high school kids, and found that Yahoo wasn't even as cool as Microsoft (MSFT), which is really saying something.

Anecdotally, I find that people are less inclined to Yahoo than any time in recent years. A Yahoo email address was once pretty cool. Now those people want a Gmail address. Yahoo is a search afterthought. Same for Yahoo maps, eclipsed by Google maps. Yahoo Messenger has wider appeal than Google Talk, but -- especially in the teen world -- sits way way behind AOL's AIM. The "coolest" thing on Yahoo these days is probably Flickr.

Yahoo needs to win hearts and minds again. Some think Yahoo's open strategy can get the coolness back, but that remains to be seen. If not, the company has a tough slog ahead.

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Kevin Maney

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