After the numerous attempts from Microsoft to acquire Yahoo, Yahoo makes a bold move to use Google’s advertising platform while they work things out. In addition to this, TimeWarner and Yahoo have been in talks and it’s expected an offer may come out next Wednesday for the shareholders: YHOO + TWX or YHOO + MSFT.
My Open Letter to Yahoo:
Please, Yahoo, don’t accept an offer from TimeWarner to buy Yahoo. As a shareholder of all three companies, I urge you to consider your long-term growth and look at TimeWarner’s acquisition of AOL and question the growth plan. While Microsoft is the devil, they have a large audience of enterprise and home users. TimeWarner has traditional media. Traditional media is dead.
Don’t lose your values. Stick to your guns and learn to say “no.” If you find that it is indeed better to align yourselves with a traditional media corporation, I will have no choice but to exercise my shares and invest in another company that is equally focused on consumers and shareholders.
This is dangerous for your only asset — users. As former AOL users left, where did they call home on the Web? They went to Yahoo, because you stood up for user experience. People don’t complain about Yahoo’s Ads, they complain about AOL’s. Yahoo doesn’t make numerous customer service or consumer privacy gaffes, AOL does; Yahoo cares about their users, I can’t say that for AOL. If you align with AOL, your users will know and will abandon you in favor of Google. People have no problem changing their e-mail address since they’ve done it already with AOL.
Don’t align with TimeWarner for your shareholders.
Don’t align with TimeWarner for your employees.
Don’t align with TimeWarner for your advertisers.
Don’t align with TimeWarner for your users.
Please.
Thanks,
Joe
