Yahoo Talent Exodus Accelerates as Marissa Mayer’s Turnaround Flounders • Hacker News Board

Re: Yahoo Talent Exodus Accelerates as Marissa Mayer’s Turnaround Flounders

#51

Post by magicalist » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 4:35 PM UTC

bhouston wrote: post #16

coldpie wrote: post #3

What does Yahoo do? Microsoft has Windows, Office and Xbox. Amazon has massive web server and product distribution platforms. Apple has OS X and iPhone. Google has Android, search, ads, and an online office suite. What does Yahoo do? I guess they have some long-time email users and a well-liked stock tracking platform?

Google (as opposed to Alphabet) really only has Ads, everything else is just to help get those ads in front of more people more often. In the sense that both Google and Yahoo are mostly focused about showing adds, they are not that different. Google has just more means of showing ads that are more effective, and viewed as cooler by its users.

> Google (as opposed to Alphabet) really only has Ads, everything else is just to help get those ads in front of more people more often

Actually they have like ~1.37 Yahoos worth of non-ad revenue[1][2]

[1] https://investor.google.com/earnings/2015/Q2_google_earnings...

[2] https://investor.yahoo.net/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=92308...

Re: Yahoo Talent Exodus Accelerates as Marissa Mayer’s Turnaround Flounders

#52

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 4:35 PM UTC

bhouston wrote: post #16

coldpie wrote: post #3

What does Yahoo do? Microsoft has Windows, Office and Xbox. Amazon has massive web server and product distribution platforms. Apple has OS X and iPhone. Google has Android, search, ads, and an online office suite. What does Yahoo do? I guess they have some long-time email users and a well-liked stock tracking platform?

Google (as opposed to Alphabet) really only has Ads, everything else is just to help get those ads in front of more people more often. In the sense that both Google and Yahoo are mostly focused about showing adds, they are not that different. Google has just more means of showing ads that are more effective, and viewed as cooler by its users.

[deleted]

Re: Yahoo Talent Exodus Accelerates as Marissa Mayer’s Turnaround Flounders

#53

Post by JSeymourATL » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 4:38 PM UTC

squeaky-clean wrote: post #44

biot wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Stick-to-itivness Tenacity.

"Stick-to-itivness" is a perfectly cromulent word.

Yes Professor Smith, and Thank You!

Re: Yahoo Talent Exodus Accelerates as Marissa Mayer’s Turnaround Flounders

#54

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 4:38 PM UTC

squeaky-clean wrote: post #44

biot wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Stick-to-itivness Tenacity.

"Stick-to-itivness" is a perfectly cromulent word.

[deleted]

Re: Yahoo Talent Exodus Accelerates as Marissa Mayer’s Turnaround Flounders

#55

Post by strict9 » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 4:43 PM UTC

USNetizen wrote: post #28

Maybe, just maybe, it has something to do with the whole "work in our offices or quit" memo sent to virtual employees a while back not paying the dividends she had hoped. Adding insult to injury, perhaps her build-out of a full private nursery in the executive suite staffed with her personal nannies while simultaneously requiring staff to stop working remotely, even part time, had a deleterious impact on morale and w…

And perhaps putting extra emphasis on educational background over talent and achievements is running things aground.

"Mayer, who habitually asked deputies where they attended college, balked at hiring her as a contributing editor for Yahoo Food. According to one executive, Mayer disapproved of the fact that Paltrow did not graduate college."

http://www.businessinsider.com/mayer-refused-to-hire-gwyneth...

Re: Yahoo Talent Exodus Accelerates as Marissa Mayer’s Turnaround Flounders

#56

Post by draw_down » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 4:56 PM UTC

USNetizen wrote: post #28

Maybe, just maybe, it has something to do with the whole "work in our offices or quit" memo sent to virtual employees a while back not paying the dividends she had hoped. Adding insult to injury, perhaps her build-out of a full private nursery in the executive suite staffed with her personal nannies while simultaneously requiring staff to stop working remotely, even part time, had a deleterious impact on morale and w…

Maybe... or it could be a thousand other things. Not that I was a fan of what you're talking about, of course.

Re: Yahoo Talent Exodus Accelerates as Marissa Mayer’s Turnaround Flounders

#57

Post by fdang » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 5:04 PM UTC

Bet she's really regretting turning down that Google job.

And what the heck is with building a nursery in your own office while threatening people to quit if they aren't on board with her style.

Re: Yahoo Talent Exodus Accelerates as Marissa Mayer’s Turnaround Flounders

#58

Post by aaronbrethorst » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 5:06 PM UTC

strict9 wrote: post #55

USNetizen wrote: post #28

Maybe, just maybe, it has something to do with the whole "work in our offices or quit" memo sent to virtual employees a while back not paying the dividends she had hoped. Adding insult to injury, perhaps her build-out of a full private nursery in the executive suite staffed with her personal nannies while simultaneously requiring staff to stop working remotely, even part time, had a deleterious impact on morale and w…

And perhaps putting extra emphasis on educational background over talent and achievements is running things aground. "Mayer, who habitually asked deputies where they attended college, balked at hiring her as a contributing editor for Yahoo Food. According to one executive, Mayer disapproved of the fact that Paltrow did not graduate college." http://www.businessinsider.com/mayer-refused-to-hire-gwyneth...

To be fair, I would balk at hiring Paltrow, too, but that's because she's a crazy person who gives unsafe advice, not because she didn't go to college.

Re: Yahoo Talent Exodus Accelerates as Marissa Mayer’s Turnaround Flounders

#59

Post by ceejayoz » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 5:06 PM UTC

supercanuck wrote: post #41

USNetizen wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What proof is there that these people were "losers" and slackers as you put it? Either way, you're right about needing to open it back up. The impact to morale overall must have been huge when these people had to scramble to protect their livelihood.

>What proof is there that these people were "losers" and slackers as you put it? Shitty Yahoo products.

And your evidence that they were shitty due to the remote workers exclusively is what, exactly?

Re: Yahoo Talent Exodus Accelerates as Marissa Mayer’s Turnaround Flounders

#60

Post by danso » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 5:09 PM UTC

One of the most visible signs of Yahoo's weakness was its strategy to hire big media stars...I'm aware that Yahoo News brings in a godly amount of pageviews to articles on its site...but that hasn't translated to giving a more noticeable platform for its media stars. Since Yahoo hired Katie Couric, who was once a huge star on network news, the most I've seen her name in the wild is in Reddit ads promoting her interviews. I can't think of any other popular news organization that has had to resort to Reddit ads to promote its stars.

And remember David Pogue of the New York Times? His opinion was always spread widely when he was at the NYT...I've literally never seen any thing that he's written tweeted in the wild since he's been at Yahoo (though once in awhile I'll check in to read his stuff, which is actually still quite good and better than the NYT's current tech columnist).

I know cultivating a media brand is different than building and maintaining your core engineering team...but the media push was one of the big initiatives from Mayer and it went pretty badly.