This is the second half of the Interview with Ali Diab

Q: Going back to the products you work on at Yahoo!. I know that Yahoo! Maps is about to introduce some new features. Can you talk about them yet?
A: Actually, we recently launched our new real-time traffic feature for Yahoo! Maps. It provides driving conditions, incident reports, the speed of traffic, the severity of each incident and a bunch of other things that help people get where they�re going with less of a headache. In the future, I think you can expect Yahoo! Maps to become much more context-aware, user-friendly and inter-connected with other services and device interfaces, be they mobile phones or PDAs.

Q: Earlier you talked about the reviews feature of Yahoo! Local. This question came in from a blogger who questioned how Yahoo! would sell advertising to businesses whose customers might write negative reviews. He wanted to know why he�d pay to advertise and risk getting a bad review from an unhappy customer.
A: Well, the key concept behind Local is the idea of community. To build any community you have to allow people to hear and be heard. Ratings and reviews allow customers to voice their opinions about the businesses and services they�ve used. Of course, there will be a broad range of opinions from negative to positive and all the ones in between, but to add real value to the Local user who�s trying to decide whether to use a certain business, you have to have an open forum.

In some ways, I also see the reviews as a kind of checks and balances for the business. It holds them accountable to their customers who now have an additional platform to voice their likes and dislikes. People are going to talk about what was right or wrong with a business anyway. At least this way, the business can monitor what�s being said and maybe learn from it.

But ultimately, the businesses will have to weigh the pros and cons. When all is said and done, Local is still one of the best and easiest ways to reach a massive audience that would cost a bundle to target in the traditional marketing world.

Q: So the reviews aren�t censored by Yahoo! to create a kind of biased, business-partial directory?
A: Again, it�s about providing honest feedback from real customers. If we slanted them in anyway, they wouldn�t be reliable. We do provide guidelines for what to write and not write in the reviews, but for the most part, we trust that customers will use the platform responsibly.

Q: I heard you just got married a few months ago. Is there any similarity between planning a wedding and launching a product?
A: I did learn some very interesting lessons planning the wedding that I�ve applied to my job and vice versa. First you need to go with the people you trust will do a good job and who have a good track record. Then you have to let them do their job. You can�t try to micromanage them because you can�t control everything. If they enjoy what they�re doing, they�ll put their heart into it and go beyond the call of duty.

In terms of what I learned from the wedding, obviously Nora has great taste and is very strong willed -- like me. (laughs) But our tastes differed on a lot of things so we came up with a rule that I think is very important in the work place as well: if it matters more to that person than it does to you, then let them have the final say--obviously within reason. That�s something I�m increasingly applying in my work and I find that the results are great because people who care passionately about something typically have thought about it a lot more than you have and may have more insight into it than you.

Q: I understand that you have a Math degree from Stanford and you�ve talked about always having a passion for computers and technology. When did you first realize that this was something you truly loved?
A: Well my parents always say that when I was a toddler, my dad had a really old micro-computer and I was fascinated watching him work on it. In addition I�ve always been interested in taking things apart and putting them back together again. I�ve also always been product oriented. I used to make furniture when I was in high school and build my own bikes (I've been racing motorcross since I was a kid). I must have torn down and built up probably a half dozen cars and motorcycles.

I like building things that have a purpose or that lead to a certain outcome. I find it interesting to research the best materials and resources to figure out the most effective way to build something. It�s really fun.

Q: So what are you working on right now? What are you building?
A: I�m an avid skier and I�m trying to get my hands on an old ski-press so I can create my own pair of skis. I bought these really phat powder skis for the season and they�re nice but I don�t think they�re going to have the edge-holding characteristics I need. Skis that are very good for holding an edge on ice tend to have a lot of metal or a lot of wood in them. They also tend be heavy and narrow so they can hold an edge against a mountain. Whereas powder skis tend to be wider and lighter to float and keep you above the powder so you don�t sink.

I�d like to build these kind of hybrid skis that have the best of both worlds. I want to use a certain type of wood that is very porous and lightweight so that it�ll float well on powder but at the same time have very good vibration dampening characteristics so that it will hold well on ice and chattery snow.

Q: As we wrap this interview up, what do you look for when you�re recruiting for the Local team?
A: We recruit all the time and we�re always looking for smart, self motivated people. I especially like recent grads. I feel like they�re hungry and I like watching people evolve and teach themselves how to do things. Its fun to see people just getting out of school. They make mistakes but it�s seeing that energy and honesty and that effort that makes it really really satisfying.

I also look for people who have a passion outside of work�be it sporting, musical, philanthropic, whatever, because I think that kind of balance is important.

But balance doesn�t always come easily. At first you go from one extreme to the other�it�s like a pendulum, and then eventually you find that happy medium�that harmonic frequency that works.

Yvette Irvin
Y! Profiler