Yang doesn't shy away
from admitting an 'oops'

Yahoo will discontinue the "Brand Universe" concept it launched in late 2006, reports Brandweek.

The decision was reportedly a result of Terry Semel's departure. Semel was the CEO under which the pages were launched. CEO Jerry Yang has no room for Brand Universes in his long-term vision for the company.

Yang signaled his desire to reinvigorate Yahoo as the primary on-ramp for people getting online. Everything outside that goal, separate from its ad network, is being cut back.

The Brand Universes were designed to be all-encompassing pages dedicated to specific brands. Users could add videos or relevant links and engage in discussions. Much of the content was pulled from Yahoo properties like Flickr and Delicious.

Only a small portion of the planned 100 sites were actually created.