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Marissa Mayer Makes First Yahoo Acquisition: Stamped

mashable.com

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Re: Marissa Mayer Makes First Yahoo Acquisition: Stamped

#41

Post by adamzochowski »

iand wrote: post #40
webwright wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Way to add to the conversation. Hiring your "buddies" is WAY lower risk that acqui-hiring strangers. They are a known quantity AND they have enough loyalty that they probably won't bolt the instant they are able. They'll also probably work harder for you than the average acquihire. This is how the world works-- and it makes sense. It isn't just bullshit "who you know rather than what you know". Moral of the story is…

All you say is correct, even down to the "it's who you know line", but I disagree that we should exploit it or even tolerate it. It's just Cronyism ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronyism ) and my personal moral compass rejects it.

Cronyism is when one hires useless people just because they are beneficial for your own sake, not for the collective good. Wikipedia agrees "" The practice of favoritism based on relationships and connections - rather than someone who demonstrates top credentials and well-suited experience "".

The main question then becomes, were they hired more for relationship and connection or because of their credentials and experience?

Re: Marissa Mayer Makes First Yahoo Acquisition: Stamped

#42

Post by iand »

adamzochowski wrote: post #41
iand wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All you say is correct, even down to the "it's who you know line", but I disagree that we should exploit it or even tolerate it. It's just Cronyism ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronyism ) and my personal moral compass rejects it.

Cronyism is when one hires useless people just because they are beneficial for your own sake, not for the collective good. Wikipedia agrees "" The practice of favoritism based on relationships and connections - rather than someone who demonstrates top credentials and well-suited experience "". The main question then becomes, were they hired more for relationship and connection or because of their credentials and expe…

Cronyism says nothing about the skills of the people. They may well be the best people for the role. It merely means they were chosen on the basis of relationship.

Re: Marissa Mayer Makes First Yahoo Acquisition: Stamped

#43

Post by saraid216 »

joonix wrote: post #39
saraid216 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Raising the value of your firm is not the only reason to celebrate as a company; successfully making it possible to continue operating/expanding for another year is a good thing.

And a loan would let you do the same. The comparison is valid. For some reason there's a stigma against debt financing because it has to be "paid back" in installments. Equity financing still has to be paid back, the transaction just has different mechanics. Equity investments don't "raise the value" of the firm. They simply signal that other people with money believe you will generate X amount of dollars in the futu…

You don't seem to be disagreeing with me.

Re: Marissa Mayer Makes First Yahoo Acquisition: Stamped

#44

Post by hellmans »

upinsmoke wrote: post #24
hellmans wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many Google detractors (largely composed of fans of Apple, for what that's worth) see Mayer as, bizarrely, the anti-GOOG. They think she's going to open a second front on Google while somehow being universally aligned with Apple. Bizarre, but there you have it. The people who are interested in / cheering for Mayer will almost always be carrying an iPhone.

Great. Another thread turned in a discussion about Apple.

Am I wrong? I specifically addressed the question and I didn't imagine the weird correlation out of nowhere.

Re: Marissa Mayer Makes First Yahoo Acquisition: Stamped

#45

Post by stevoski »

TallGuyShort wrote: post #12
reinhardt wrote: post #7

What's up with this infatuation with Marissa Mayer? I don't remember reading about "Mark Zuckerberg acquiring Instagram" or "Steve Ballmer buying Yammer". Sheesh. EDIT: Wow that was quick, three downvotes in less than five minutes. Must have missed the memo that she's the new Steve Jobs, or something.

Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Ballmer didn't take the helm at dying companies with the expectation that they alone would lead a significant change. Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg have always been fairly synonymous. Yahoo and Marissa Meyer - not so.

Dying company? How so?

Re: Marissa Mayer Makes First Yahoo Acquisition: Stamped

#46

Post by jasonlotito »

iand wrote: post #42
adamzochowski wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cronyism is when one hires useless people just because they are beneficial for your own sake, not for the collective good. Wikipedia agrees "" The practice of favoritism based on relationships and connections - rather than someone who demonstrates top credentials and well-suited experience "". The main question then becomes, were they hired more for relationship and connection or because of their credentials and expe…

Cronyism says nothing about the skills of the people. They may well be the best people for the role. It merely means they were chosen on the basis of relationship.

Then what do you call it when people are chosen because of their skills and their relationship with the individual?

Re: Marissa Mayer Makes First Yahoo Acquisition: Stamped

#47

Post by 001sky »

saraid216 wrote: post #43
joonix wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And a loan would let you do the same. The comparison is valid. For some reason there's a stigma against debt financing because it has to be "paid back" in installments. Equity financing still has to be paid back, the transaction just has different mechanics. Equity investments don't "raise the value" of the firm. They simply signal that other people with money believe you will generate X amount of dollars in the futu…

You don't seem to be disagreeing with me.

making it possible to continue operating/expanding for another year is a good thing

This is not true if you are destroying value, so its not true per-se. A Junkie with an Amex black meets this definition of success, for example.

Re: Marissa Mayer Makes First Yahoo Acquisition: Stamped

#48

Post by jemfinch »

samstave wrote: post #33
jemfinch wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This type of snarky comment diminishes the level of discourse here. Please stop making them, and please encourage others to stop making them.

Your comment is far more meta than the OP, he makes a claim that Yahoo has propensity for killing acquired services... that's germane to the subject of this thread, yours is not...

"Meta"ness is not a problem here. Rudeness is. Comments like mine are necessary if the level of discourse is to remain higher here than other sites. Comments like the OP's are not.

Re: Marissa Mayer Makes First Yahoo Acquisition: Stamped

#49

Post by amorphid »

smegel wrote: post #38

It's great they are putting mobile at the forefront of their strategic direction. I don't think Yahoo's web presence can be salvaged - they have just fallen too far behind Google, Facebook, and the multitude of other leading social platforms. But mobile is a chance for Yahoo to reset it's identity, it's brand, it's UI, it's relationship to users. It has a chance to become cool again.

That doesn't have to be true. It's still quite possible to build a website that grows to be huge. Although I would agree it's unlikely someone will build a portal-style site that displaces a Facebook or Google.

Re: Marissa Mayer Makes First Yahoo Acquisition: Stamped

#50

Post by webwright »

iand wrote: post #40
webwright wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Way to add to the conversation. Hiring your "buddies" is WAY lower risk that acqui-hiring strangers. They are a known quantity AND they have enough loyalty that they probably won't bolt the instant they are able. They'll also probably work harder for you than the average acquihire. This is how the world works-- and it makes sense. It isn't just bullshit "who you know rather than what you know". Moral of the story is…

All you say is correct, even down to the "it's who you know line", but I disagree that we should exploit it or even tolerate it. It's just Cronyism ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronyism ) and my personal moral compass rejects it.

If you were looking for a job, would you call up the people you know or dive into the classifieds? When you hire a contractor, would you go with someone you know or a stranger? Relationships and social proof make the world go round. There's certainly a spectrum here-- but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
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