Brain Drain, Reorg at Yahoo?
- By Peter Varhol
- 06/24/2008
Yahoo continues to make news on almost a weekly basis, this past week for two
significant news reports.
First, CNN and others are reporting that the company is experiencing a high-level
talent exodus, noting that half-a-dozen executives have left over the past
two weeks. It's not clear who fell and who was pushed, but it does mean that
there's confusion at the top.
Yahoo is also reported to be coming out with a sweeping
reorganization, in part designed to turn Yahoo software into Web services
that can be called by users and other applications for specific uses, or to
combine with other applications. While it sounds like an intriguing strategy,
I have to question its value to the company -- as well as Yahoo's ability to
pull it off.
As it's nearing electoral season in the United States, pols are increasingly
asking, "Are we headed in the right direction?" I'd like to get your
feedback on that same question for Yahoo: "Is Yahoo headed in the right
direction?" Send your vote to [email protected].
Gates, XP Go Out Together
In a strange coincidence, both Bill Gates and the Windows XP operating system
seem destined to leave Microsoft together.
Most are familiar with Gates'
upcoming departure from day-to-day Microsoft business on June 30. However,
that's also the last day that Microsoft is permitting the sale
of Windows XP by OEM manufacturers and through new retail sales (it will
continue to be available to enterprises under existing license agreements).
Many irreverent remarks can be made about this pairing of events -- such as,
"It's all downhill from here for Microsoft." Send me your own irreverent
remark to [email protected].
As If Tracking Web Traffic Wasn't Hard Enough...
This week, Google has unveiled its own free tool for tracking
Web traffic to various sites, but with a strange twist: It can't, or won't,
track traffic to its own sites. It's not clear that this limitation is intentional
or purely a side effect of the method (and possibly servers) used.
The results provided by this tool will be estimated rather than exact, and
will include data from anonymous opt-in settings in the company's Google Analytics
tool. Google and others note that it will likely produce results that are different
from established Web traffic measurement services.
Is there any accurate way of measuring traffic to Web sites? Or will we always
be subject to guessing? Send your guess to [email protected].
About the Author
Peter Varhol is the executive editor,
reviews of Redmond magazine and has more than 20 years of experience as a software
developer, software product manager and technology writer. He has graduate degrees
in computer science and mathematics, and has taught both subjects at the university
level.