I was at Yahoo 2003-2008. My criticism/critique could make a book (I actually was working on a book proposal with a fellow Y! entitled "How Yahoo! Invented Social Media and Fumbled It" - or something like that. :-D) The book is indefinitely on hold for numerous reasons. Honestly, I'm worried about writing a kiss-and-tell book and the bridges I'd likely burn as a result. I still like to think of myself as friendly with Y! overall.
For now, I'll make only one comment: Paul apparently wasn't there during the short few years when I was one of the insiders pushing for the purchase of Flickr, Upcoming, Delicious and other cutting edge companies - there was some new "hacker-ethic" energy and we were able to hire some top-notch folks in that wake. Too bad Yahoo's autoimmune response rejected almost every idea, business process, and technology these new hackers brought with them. It spat every one of those innovative companies founders out like rotten food and never integrated the lessons they brought with them. The suits (and their product silos) did, and continue, to kill Yahoo one day at a time. The few hacker-ethics folks that remain (there are some!) continue to fight the good fight, even if it is an uphill battle. I'm pretty sure I've said too much already, and that is only scratching the surface, Randy
