Resumegate Continues At Yahoo: Thompson Out As CEO, Levinsohn In

Google85 writes with this news from All Things D: "Yahoo's embattled CEO Scott Thompson is set to step down from his job at the Silicon Valley Internet giant, in what will be a dramatic end to a controversy over a fake computer science degree that he had on his bio, according to multiple sources close to the situation. The company will apparently say he is leaving for 'personal reasons.' Thompson's likely replacement on an interim basis will be Yahoo's global media head, Ross Levinsohn, who most recently also ran its Americas unit, including its advertising sales."

Who's Running Corporations?

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

Man, I think there are a lot of Slashdotters with degrees shaking their heads right about now. Turns out, you don't even need one to rise all the way to the top of a major multinational corporation.

Sure, you might get caught eventually, but think of all the millions you'd have raked in in bonuses, whether or not you trashing the company.

But I was especially struck by the umpteen media executive being brought in to run the company instead. So we have a man at the helm of an internet company with no CS degree, being replaced by more men with no CS degrees. It's pretty clear that CS will never, ever get you as far as advanced skills in professional bullshitting. Sometimes, the world saddens me.

Re:Stop using gate at the end of 'scandals'

[RavenousBlack]

I think the feeble mind is the one that ignores an argument, attacks the one making the argument, and repeats the original line of thinking being argued against. The suffix adds plenty to the base word. If the title was just "Resume Continues at Yahoo: Thompson Out as CEO, Levinsohn In" then it wouldn't be clear what was meant. Adding -gate makes it apparent that there was some sort of scandal involving something about a resume. While it's not the only way to express that information it's one that has been adopted as understandable by a large enough population. Also, while it isn't true to what Watergate originally was: It. Doesn't. Matter. Meaning is not static. I would say that it takes a good mind to accept and adapt to the constant changes of language. And even further, you can't nitpick such a thing because you're guilty of it yourself! You used the word "orchestrated" in your post. The earliest origin of the word orchestra was used to refer to the area in a theater where the chorus was positioned. It has nothing to do with your use of it. You still used it fairly successfully though.

Re:Is Yahoo the other HP?

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Authoritative sources in snappy suits tell us that only wearing a hoodie 'disrespects' investors.

Indulging in childish, unprofessional, and deeply ethically compromised behavior is a form of culturally accepted hospitality. In order to put institutional investors at ease, the board and upper level executives wish to reassure them that they can expect to be dealing with their peers, should they choose to invest in the Yahoo family...

Re:Eyeballs and pageviews

[Dogtanian]

They're going to get buried into history if they don't stop this cheap soap-opera with the CEO(s)... The internet changes much faster than the real world. One day you're at the top, tomorrow you're nobody: there once was a site called myspace, and the rest is history :)

Yeah, but bear in mind that Yahoo aren't really a "flavour of the month" company... and haven't been for *well over a decade* now. I always had the perception that (despite having tried some new stuff) fundamentally they hadn't really moved on or gone anywhere since their portal-fad dotcom-era incarnation. To me, they have the air of a "legacy" company still stuck in the late 90s, a long-stagnant dinosaur that didn't seem to go anywhere much after Google stole their thunder in the aftermath of the dotcom era.

And my point is that despite this .... they're still worth loads. They've been yesterday's men, once-leaders who were overtaken, for over a decade now, and yet they're still way up there... so I wouldn't write them off, or at least assume that they're going to do a MySpace within 18 months or whatever.

I'm guessing a lot of Yahoo's success is down to existing (i.e. "legacy") users- AFAIK Yahoo Mail still has a surprisingly large and established user base. Probably *not* "fashionable" computer users, but more conservative, less tech-savvy types who stick with them out of momentum and lack of interest in changing- but that of course is a good thing for Yahoo in many respects!