Editorial: Yahoo! Reprehensible Ya-hooligans

Maybe important

The sacking of Carol Bartz, the CEO of Yahoo! yesterday most definitely had great effect, the markets were hoopla as the almost 3 year tenure of the lady came to an abrupt end.

Now, Yahoo! had to do what they had to do having seen that she had failed to appreciably turn around the fortunes of the company but it would be remiss of observers to think that the CEO runs a company like a fiefdom without the team that constitutes the board and management of that organisation.

Appalling action

However, none of that bothers me as much as the manner of sacking of this lady; she was apparently sacked over the phone. The excuse being proffered was that she was on the other side of the country and the most immediate contact that could be made to deliver this “world-ending” news was to deliver it over the phone.

I am not persuaded in the slightest of this view, for all the cut-throat competition and the cut-and-thrust of corporate politics it would be rather unfortunate if the basic tenets of good manners, courtesy, decorum, gentlemanliness and I dare say chivalry were lost for the expediency of pleasing the market.

At worst, the immediate and prompt summoning of Carol Bartz to an emergency board meeting to deliver the news to her in person is the least that should have been expected of those who by circumstance might have been highly fed, lowly taught and quite lacking in breeding.

Apes on boards

This masterstroke of palace coups ranks high in the annals of ignominy and will not have Yahoo! shooting up the charts of the next best company to work for; the callousness of sacking a colleague of such importance by such clinically repugnant tactics does make the men involved appear to fit better in an ape colony than in the company of polite society.

I will expect any Yahoo! employee with the slightest dignity and honour to be considering the precariousness of their positions if this could happen to their CEO.

One can only wish that this type of reprehensible behaviour does not become the staple of boardroom putsches where cads on executive boards begin to give much credence to the one funny play on Yahoo! – Ya-hooligans, this sort just make your skin crawl.

Paris - from triumph to agreement

No flicker on Picasa

Having taken a good few photographs, I was met with the problem of how to publish them. So, to Google, I went searching for web ablums and I got introduced to Picasa Web Albums, part of the Google behemoth which I think is a play on Picasso the artist.

Easy as everything seemed including the deals and so on, I usually subscribe to any Internet service that would provide me value, performance and service – this goes for my hotmail and blog service.

So, how do I subscribe to the Picasa thingy? I need a Gmail account.

How do I get a Gmail account? I need to be introduced but another Gmail member or get an SMS message sent to my mobile phone. So, I go for the second option.

You cannot be serious, the Netherlands is not in the list, in fact, no European country appears in that list. Well, that is one lost customer for Google and one gain for Yahoo – getting on flickr.com does not involve extraneous and sanctimonious controls – I hate frustrated access – it puts me off and I sure would not be doing Gmail – not ever.

I just have to bear the silliness of greetings like Aloha AkinNLD! on flickr – One is seriously not impressed.

Paris ma belle ville

Anyways, I could offer myself as a mini-tour guide to Paris, I have done it a few times taking friends and relations round Paris and helping them understand that they do not have to see Paris and die.

Usually, my guests only have two nights to spend in Paris, so major attractions like the Louvre Museum are out of the question.

Usually, I concentrate on the views and the landmarks; first thing to do is the Eiffel Tower to the very top – a must, a time out for lunch and a trip on the tour bus. In a romantic setting it would be dinner on the 53^rd floor of the Montparnasse Tower the tallest building in Paris, facing the Eiffel Tower at night.

Alternatively, go up to the Grande Arche in the Place de La Défense and just have a time there.

In other cases, one can walk up or down the Champs-Élysées Avenue between the Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe.

I must confess that doing the Champs-Élysées at night saves you the urge and temptation others have to go into every shop with fools gold and too much glitter especially if you have to adjudge if the ring fits or the necklace design is right.

On a very sunny day, walking through the Jardins des Tuileries from Place de le Concorde to the Louvre is one exciting view – today, I did the Arc de Triomphe to Louvre plod recorded a few things of interest.

I took quite a number of pictures and you can find them on my flickr album.

Just in case you are wondering about the title - it is about my walk from the Arc de Triomphe (triumph) to Place de la Concorde (harmony/agreement).