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Google's Marissa Mayer Becomes Yahoo! CEO
D H NG writes "Marissa Mayer, Google's employee #20 and Vice President of Local, has been appointed CEO of Yahoo. She was Google's public face for years, famously being responsible for the look and feel of Google's most popular products: the famously unadorned white search homepage, Gmail, Google News and Google Images. Mayer resigned from Google Monday afternoon and will begin her new job on Tuesday."
Huh?
I'm confused. I guess that I didn't understand right, I thought that we users were the product, and the customers were the advertising agencies and companies that pay Google to deliver our views/time to them...
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
She spent her time working at a company that has a good product and a pretty solid streak of good years.
Yahoo is stuck with lots of products that nobody wants anymore and flailing to find what to cut and what to keep. Those kinds of decisions are much more difficult that riding a rocket like Google's last decade. CEOs who turn around failing companies are not pragmatic technologists or engineers, but either cutthroats or visionaries with a killer instinct.
That is the best thing to happen to Yahoo in a long time. She's significantly more competent than the previous CEO, and has more knowledge of tech companies than the one before that. She has some serious challenges, but she could change the worst parts of culture at Yahoo (which is currently driving away top talent).
She did a couple interviews lately, if you want to know more about her.
Bio and more links here.
Um, the definition of your 'customer' is someone who gives you money. Did you remember to pay the Google bill this month? Didn't think so.
Nobody expects Yahoo to return to its glory years, but if you can right the ship and steer it to stability, consider it a success. Aim high by shooting low.
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Lots of the press is focused on the fact she's a woman CEO - but more important is she's been one of Google's #1 product people since really early on. Hopefully it'll actually make Yahoo focus on product again and get away from the "audience" focus. Larry and Sergei probably not happy campers right now...!
--- Karma monkey, twitter: njyx
Since both companies are based in California, and California forbids non-compete clauses, no such clause is applicable.
Now she could be sued for use of trade secrets, that is, if she ever does, but just going to work for Yahoo is not illegal for her.
If there is no product left you are screwed. Yahoo is not Google either and is less aggressive in marketing and advertising.
What I really see is from the security scandal and many many other problems including spammers taking over, and feature rott, are all a sign of a lack of vision and people just giving a damn about their products. Their products reak, porn spammers even go into the children's chat rooms for crying out loud and spam every 1 minute! I am not talking about a one time thing, but they have been doing that for over 10 years! I quit using Yahoo right around then with chat.
Their IM program is malware ladden and slows down older computers and has people randomly friending and spamming you, again no one gives a shit at Yahoo and I use Digsby for my Yahoo client now.
They could have taken on Google in 2002 with an improved search engine. They could have taken on Skype with improved video as they did have some of it workign and calling in YahooIM 5 years ago at least. They could have got rid of all the porn spammers and made Yahoo chat a must have thing rather than letting AOL and then MSN steal this market.
In comparison Google and even Microsoft quickly fix things and are always at least trying to compete and outdo companies like Skype. No one cares and it is just a boring day job with no passion left. This new CEO needs to excite her employees and fire QA and security people and provide a vision for improvments.
Do this and we the product shall return.
http://saveie6.com/
Don't bother clicking that link, it's exactly what it says but with no pics of sexy geeky chicks.
She was employee #20 at Google. Her estimated wealth is $300 million. I don't think she needs a parachute. She wants a shot at top dog, and that was the one thing Google couldn't give her.
Help stamp out iliturcy.
Ya HOOO....
Yeah, looks like she was pretty hot like 10, 15 years ago.
Just like Yahoo.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Is that Cole's Law?