The Biz of Coding

Is the world ready to move ahead without a Yahoo!

by Ujwal Tickoo on June 17th, 2008

Microsoft-Yahoo! talks have yet again become inconclusive. Through the huge media spectacle about aye's or nay's about a "Microhoo" I kept wondering "Is the world ready to move ahead without a Yahoo!"??? (my ex-employer)

It was eminently clear to all that the culture clash for Yahoo! employees at Microsoft was a huge issue.

Yahoo's walls are awash in bright purples and yellows, while Microsoft's campus is coated in drab neutrals. Yahoo's co-founder holds the cutesy title of "chief Yahoo," while Bill Gates was "chief software architect."

Yahoo epitomises California cool; Microsoft is still trying to get over its competition-crushing past.

Why? Yahoo! even after it became large and beauracratic retained several individuals who could be irreverant all various levels of the company. This value of "Fun=Irreverance" was what made Yahoo! a Yahoo!. This propagated the "hack" culture and many more good things.

We believe humor is essential to success. We applaud irreverence and don't take ourselves too seriously. 

How many companies would even put that word in its "Values" statement? You ask an irreverent question to the big guy in a traditional company and you will be hit by an unknown flying email somewhere. At Yahoo! — mostly – you could walk away or even shake hands with the big guy. The other strong value that Yahoo! had was that of fostering an "infectious sense of mission to make an impact on society and empower consumers in ways never before possible. We are committed to serving both the Internet community and our own communities."

This showed up in severals ways. In hack events where people tried to build new apps that could be cool and even be very big for a lot of people. (Its not an 80%-20% rule that your manager will account for during your annual review. Its mixed with the fun element of being a Yahoo!) In taking decisions on respecting consumer Privacy — I often observed a lot of respect for community (though mishaps have happened with every big Internet firm). 

I remain a Yahoo! — an irreverent, community change desiring kid — whether or not I work at the "company" Yahoo!

I feel that a hole will be left in the internet world if the company Yahoo! were to vanish or be absorbed by Microsoft, though from an objective business perspective that perhaps makes sense.

Big Money is easier to make. Good Cultures are tougher to create. There are more multi-billion dollar companies in Fortune's list than the companies where employees would *really* want to stay and work. Nor is there a 1-1 ranking relation between a company at a given Ranking of F500 and Ranking (or lack of it) of Fortune's Best Place to Work.

Why couldn't Microsoft or ORACLE create cultures of irreverence? Money spinning — this world will continue with. How many Jerry Yang's and David Filo's will come again and re-create another Yahoo!??? The world could continue without Yahoo! but it won't be as much fun. I mean irreverent.

POSTED IN: Yahoo