Comments on: Look at What Yahoo Could Have Won

By: MB Web Design

MB Web Design — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:59:45 +0000

Anything that references Jim Bowen and Bulseye gets my thumbs up.

Back on topic: If I were a Yahoo investor I’d have big problems with the board rejecting an offer that would quite clearly benefit the company as a whole (but maybe not Yang et al.) and it’s shareholders. I think it’s a selfish and personally-motivated decision by the board.

By: Robert

Robert — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:48:59 +0000

Boy have Yahoo! missed out on this one! They really should have simply taken the money and gone.

@Terry: You wouldn’t mind putting $1m into a company watch it whittle away and then that company refuse to make a profit on that? Because you saw some promise in the company?

I would advise they take the money. That’s business – nothing personal.

By: Ciaran

Ciaran — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:00:34 +0000

Fantastic post, especially for the use of Jim Bowen's picture. To be fair, I doubt that Jerry Yang really needs a speed boat... (sorry, very parochial joke) Ciaran's last blog post..SnapNow: The Real Future Of Mobile Search?

By: DeeMX

DeeMX — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:28:17 +0000

I think too: Google as partner is more perspective for Yahoo, than Microsoft.

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:42:56 +0000

Yes, I am starting to believe that Yahoo took an “anyone but Microsoft” path. But the usual love story end up with the girl marrying the man she hate most.

By: PS3

PS3 — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:12:52 +0000

@Andy, not sure what it was like 25 years ago but Brighton is now a very, hip and trendy place for the up and coming!

By: Keylogger Guy

Keylogger Guy — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:40:19 +0000

I think partnership with Google would be better for Yahoo anyway.

By: Sop

Sop — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:45:34 +0000

I thought the MS-Yahoo alliance is a good thing for the market. Yahoo could have use the MS strength to further enhance its Search marketshare. But That Jerry is probably alittle too proud to take up the $b offer. How much does the ‘piss’ worth anyway?

By: Te

Te — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:36:11 +0000

What a wasted chance….Yahoo could have use the money from MS to turn the whole business around.

By: Cobut

Cobut — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:31:00 +0000

Big loss for Yahoo

By: Terry Howard

Terry Howard — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:19:00 +0000

@Andy - That is certainly one way to look at the shareholder relationship, and admittedly currently the most prevalent. But the purpose of buying stock is meant to be an investment into a company whom you see promise, at least that's how the system began. Today's investors seem to treat stocks like a lottery ticket or some other get rich quick scheme. They aren't fans of the product or supportive of the business as is, they want to drop a quarter in the slot machine, pull the lever and then fill their cup with the winnings and move to the next machine. Today's investors are nothing more than the blue hairs you see circling the slots like vultures at an old worn carpet casino. They aren't investing to strengthen our economy and help build strong businesses that provide wealth and jobs to real people. So when we look around at our economic downturns, the subprime mortgage collapse and whine out one side of our mouth and then wonder why Yahoo would dare not sell their sweat equity for a Microsoft Instant Millions scratch off... Well, I just gotta shake my head because that line of thinking IS the problem. Terry Howard's last blog post..Blaming Yourself is Healthy

By: Andy Beal

Andy Beal — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:52:43 +0000

@Terry – very true, but at the end of the day, when you become a public company, you effectively sell your company spirit for the American dollar. While the ideal is to hold on to the same dreams you had, in reality you no longer own those dreams, your shareholders do.

By: Terry Howard

Terry Howard — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:43:48 +0000

Well maybe that's where our understanding is falling down. Most people who don't get the decision see Yahoo as merely an abbreviation on the NASDAQ ticker. The people who have poured their blood sweat and tears into building that brand do not. It's all fine and good to say they are being irresponsible to their stock holders but there is an inherent danger in a market that comes to treat businesses on exactly the same level of mutual funds. You can't steer a company with 100% of your intention being fast cash now or you will eventually crash into the rocks. Terry Howard's last blog post..Blaming Yourself is Healthy

By: Web Marketing Man

Web Marketing Man — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:41:48 +0000

And right now Yahoo! seems to be losing ground hand over fist…steadily slipping into the abyss…

By: Top Rated

Top Rated — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:18:48 +0000

"Anyone but Microsoft" may sound nice to the anti-MS crowd out there, but who else has the deep pockets and technical expertise to take an a tech stock with such unrealized potential as Yahoo. Top Rated's last blog post..The Very Best Digital SLR Cameras

By: Eva White

Eva White — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:59:40 +0000

Tell me whom do you think a person would rather work for? Google, Yahoo or Microsoft? Eva White's last blog post..Horse Riding

By: Andy Beal

Andy Beal — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:49:05 +0000

@PS3 – you did miss it! I was born in England, and lived in Brighton for 25 years.

By: PS3

PS3 — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:47:46 +0000

I may have missed it Andy but hadn’t realised you had spent some time over here. Which part of the UK?

Bullseye was a classic. If the contestants ever managed to win, the best they could hope for was a caravan. Lose, and when the stage turned it was always the car that went begging!

By: Ashley

Ashley — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 19:21:51 +0000

SO it finally happened. Microsoft and Yahoo are now together. WE’ll see the results of their partnership soon!

By: Ruben Zevallos Jr.

Ruben Zevallos Jr. — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 03:52:04 +0000

I don’t know what will be the deal with Google, but one think I know… Yahoo’ll lost a very good oportunity to give a good profits to it’s sharolders… Google want to dominate… and no one want to see… Microsoft by other hand, always said what they want… to make that every computer in the world use and pay for it’s OSes…