Yahoo: Jelly for the Peanut Butter Memo
September 14, 2015
In 2006, I learned that a Yahooligan wrote what is findable in Google as the “peanut butter manifesto.” The alleged author of the peanut butter analysis left Purpleville but thoughtfully updated his write up in 2013. The points which stick to the roof of my mind were: [a] Yahoo was doing too much with too few resources and [b] Yahooligans leaked information outside of Purpleville. Interesting to some, but the Yahoo is not germane to what I do unless the company makes wild and crazy assertions about its excellence in search, its semantic research, and the other topics I keep in the room with my favorite hobby horse.
I read “Straight Outta Sunnyvale: Yahoo Manager Gone after Racially Charged E-Mail.” It seems that another Yahooligan wrote an internal document and revealed truths about the Purple monster. I am one of those individuals who is easily confused. I assumed that the hipsters at Yahoo were in step with the trends.
I noted this passage in the “Straight Outta Sunnyvale” article:
Meghna Virick, a professor of management at San Jose State University, said Mr. Shen’s [former Yahooligan and alleged Straight Outta memo author] prompt departure from Yahoo was “harsh” and a missed opportunity to have a broader discussion at the company about what is permissible. “Yes, it’s embarrassing, and yes, it’s humiliating, but it’s sometimes good to let this stuff surface,” Prof. Virick said. “It’s important to have discussions about it, to treat this as an opportunity to talk about it with the rest of the Yahoo community. Because if [Mr. Shen] felt comfortable documenting it by e-mail, there’s a likelihood that there could be a culture of disrespect.”
Disrespect? Interesting.
Yahoo may not be able to generate robust organic growth, but its staff can crank out the internal documents which contribute to my appreciation of the Sillycon Valley business environment. I also like the meme power of their memos. Peanut butter and straight outta Sunnyvale. Very clever writing in my view.
Asterisks can be powerful. Ah, dear, old Yahoo. “So don’t be a punk.” I am not sure what that means but the phrase speaks to some at Yahoo. I wonder if the injunction will improve the company’s information access technologies. Dog food?
Stephen E Arnold, September 14, 2015
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