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Headed for the Rocks or a Safe Harbor?
Compared to other Internet big names, Yahoo hasn't announced much in the past year. Perhaps that is part of the perception problem the company has suffered. Certainly there seems to be no great push to social networking or becoming a big media portal, as most other Web players are engaged in.
So it comes as little surprise that, after firing its CEO yesterday, the remainders of the board are looking at options to sell the company, according to a Wall Street Journal piece. Given that Yahoo's troubles started with Yahoo founder Jerry Yang not selling the company to Microsoft back in 2008, it all seems ironic that it finds itself looking for buyers again, having wasted two years of opportunity.
UPDATE 2: AOL could be looking to acquire Yahoo, according to Bloomberg citing anonymous sources. They say AOL boss Tim Armstrong is discussing the idea of a merger or other deal to combine the flagging forces of the once Internet giants.
UPDATE 1: Since her firing, Carol Bartz has let lose a few missives against her former employers, while former CEO Jerry Yang and Chairman Roy Bostock could be engaged in a battle of wills and wallets to see who will take over the company.
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If You Shout 'Yahoo' in the Woods, Does Anyone Care?
The Yahoo story is one of riches to rags, as the company boomed in the mid-nineties during the Internet revolution. But whereas Google has become an Internet monster, Yahoo seems to have stood still with a busy but unfocused front page of news, sport, services and trending topics that looks like it should appeal to all, but is clearly lacking action, traction and loyalty.
Sure, the company still has tens of millions of visitors and users of its services, and has plenty of high-profile web properties. However, it looks like the company has lacked the touch of a maverick CEO, prepared to push the boat out.
While Carol Bartz came to the stuffy environs of Autodesk and did wonders there, for some reason the same hasn't happened at Yahoo, and most stories have been of talent leaving rather than arriving.
Whoever the next CEO is, it is likely to be a short-term post if the company is sold, so perhaps Yahoo will never to get to reach for the lofty heights of Web greatness again. Still, there is interest; rapper Snoop Dogg has put his hat in the ring with a tweet. Yahoo's stock price rocketed up by a dollar on the news, but is drifting back down in early trading.
