Yahoo! Search BOSS V2 Update Released

Yahoo! Search BOSS V2 launched in April this year, has received a few updates to the service today.

Yahoo! Search BOSS V2 Update Released

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Third Yahoo M&A; Boss Quits In Two Years (YHOO)

Yahoo's head of M&A, Taylor Barada, is leaving for Zynga, Kara Swisher at All Things D reports.

This is the second head of M&A Yahoo has lost in the last year. Previously, Andrew Siegel left Yahoo to move back to his family in New York and work for Conde Nast parent company Advance Publications.

Prior to Siegel, Yahoo's M&A boss was Greg Mrva. He left in the fall of 2009.

Leading M&A at Yahoo isn't the best job in the world right now. It can't spend big bucks on sexy acquisitions, and it has trouble convincing companies to join Yahoo.

For instance, Yahoo couldn't close the deal on buying Foursquare last year. It also rejected by Groupon after making a low ball offer.

On the plus side ... Yahoo is about to dump Yahoo Japan, so it might have a pile of cash to play with for whoever takes over the M&A gig.

Don't Miss: Carol Bartz Has Sold, Killed, Or Plans To Kill Over $4.8 Billion Worth Of Yahoo Acquisitions

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See Also:

• THERE'S A BEAR AT YAHOO
• THE MICROSOFT INVESTOR: Microsoft And Nokia Are Going To Sell A Ton Of Phones
• 10 Behind-The-Scenes Crankers Who Built The World's Greatest Startups

Third Yahoo M&A; Boss Quits In Two Years (YHOO)

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Gawker's Sales Boss Chris Batty Leaving After Serious Disagreement With Nick Denton About Strategy

More news out of Gawker today. Sales boss Chris Batty is leaving to start his own venture, and he's bringing fellow salesman Michael Casco with him.

In an email to staff explaining the move, Gawker boss Nick Denton says, "Chris and I diverge seriously over strategy. That spilled over into unhealthy conflict between editorial and sales."

But, things must not have gotten too bad between Denton and Batty, because he also says, "Gawker Media will be both a partner and an investor" in Batty's new advertising venture.

Here's the email from Denton to the staff:

Yes, this may be a shock to some of you. Chris Batty and Michael Cascio, Gawker Media's long-time head of sales and marketing and sales leader, are leaving the company at the end of December. In the new year, we will begin a search for a replacement; we will be looking at candidates both from the digital world and those with TV experience. Chris will coordinate the recruitment. Applicants should contact him directly. In the interim, the sales operation will be overseen by Gabriela, who first brought Chris in.


It's easier than usual to give the corporate bromides about departing colleagues -- because Batty and Cascio have such an impressive track record. No exaggeration is needed. Under Chris -- and with help from Gaby Darbyshire's international deals -- the company's annual revenue has increased tenfold. The increase since 2005 translates into a 56% annual growth rate. This quarter will be by some margin our largest ever. Chris and Michael are ending on the highest of notes.



Here's just a selection of the great calls that Chris made: the eviction of the ad networks that were undercutting our premium positioning; the establishment of a creative services unit to work on custom implementations for clients; sponsored posts, advertorial content in the main flow of the sites; the introduction of custom marquee and panorama units commanding higher rates than standard IAB units.



Above all, he pushed Gawker Media to professionalize: to go beyond the fly-by-night approach of the early years, recognize that we had become a serious business, and push for proper office space, 401k plans and the other trappings of a real company.



I've known Chris a decade, since in San Francisco he nearly siphoned off $500,000 from my last company, an act of salesmanship which cemented my respect for his talents. Sure, we've rowed over everything from politics to page layout. But that's been part of the fun; and the arguments have generally led to better decisions.



There is one disagreement that became harder to attribute to creative tension. Our sites are allergic to corporate boilerplate, so I'm going to be explicit. Chris and I diverge seriously over strategy. That spilled over into unhealthy conflict between editorial and sales. The clash is not quite as simple as audience versus revenue. After all, it's that ever-growing and upscale readership that draws advertisers; and, as Chris often pointed out, it's ad sales that fund editorial. The two should be in symbiosis.



However, of all media companies, Gawker Media is one that has built itself around audience growth, in the belief that advertising will follow. That isn't the only media strategy available; it just happens to be the one that we chose; and it is to that which everybody signs up when joining the company.



Chris will be launching a new advertising venture; Gawker Media will be both a partner and an investor. I'm glad he will have the opportunity finally to be his own boss -- as other Gawker alumni such as Lockhart Steele and Choire Sicha have done.



As for Gawker's own future plans: tomorrow afternoon, Tom will present the upcoming release of the sites; Gabs will run through the proposed ad offering associated with it; and I will try to explain how it all hangs together in the 2011 plan, a written copy of which is being sent to you.



I'm not going to say any more now. I'm assuming you'll need today to begin digesting the news. Gabs will be contacting you to schedule a session tomorrow morning for sales and marketing, to deal with your questions. Chris and Michael will kick off the meeting. And of course Gabs and I are both around today for anyone who wants to talk.



Nick

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See Also:

• Denton: Why Gawker Is Moving Beyond The Blog
• Gawker Crushes Its October Numbers
• Nick Denton Is Buying Back Gawker Stock At A $30 Million Valuation – Here's Why

Gawker's Sales Boss Chris Batty Leaving After Serious Disagreement With Nick Denton About Strategy

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Ask The Headhunter: How Do I Tell My Boss I'm Overworked?

by Nick Corcodilos

Question:

As has happened with every job I've ever had, I've come in entry level, and have had more and more work piled on me until I'm a bundle of nerves and stress. I've handled this very well until now. My current job (software documentation) is the first I've had that recognizes my abilities and has compensated me fairly, both monetarily (not too fairly, though!) and with responsibility and management duties. However, I have now inherited more work than I can handle. I've absorbed the workloads of two individuals who are no longer working with the company. HELP! I'm only one person and can only do so much in a 16-hour day! (Isn't it supposed to be 8 hours?) I look forward to any suggestions or comments you are willing to provide!  

Nick's Reply:

I've known more than a few people with a good work ethic who don't know when to tell management "this is too much!" The fact that you keep getting yourself into these situations isn't surprising: It's a bit of a personality trait, I think. You've got to deal with it.

Part of what you're paid for is to tell management the truth. The truth is this: The documentation function in your company requires additional staff.

Prepare a simple plan that outlines:

 

1. The work that needs to be done (the source of the work, the nature of the work, the time it takes to do it).

2. The profit produced by the work. (Remember, Profit = Revenue-Cost: You contribute to either or both, but you must produce profit or your job gets eliminated).

3. The cost of manpower and tools required to do the work profitably (you, and any additional proposed staff).

4. A description of the relationship between size of the department and the amount of output you can produce (16-hour days are not allowed).

 

No matter how much work you keep taking on, as long as you accept it the company will continue to heap it on. It's their fault for expecting so much, but it's more your fault for letting them think you can handle it.

Schedule a meeting with your boss. Don't tell him you're having a problem. Tell him you think you have the documentation function organized now. Then show him your plan, including the requirements for additional staff. Don't complain, don't be defensive. Just give him the facts. Not wanting to work 16 hour days is not something you have to apologize for. However, it is your responsibility to show the company what needs to be done to handle the work effectively.

If you don't deal with this problem now, on this job, you will continue to face it at any future job. The sign of a good employee is dealing with the problem, not compensating by working 16 hour days.

One caution: Some companies prefer to kill an employee with work rather than spend what it takes to do the job fairly and do it right. If this describes your company, be prepared to start looking for a new job. I hope your employer is ethical. You owe it to yourself to have a job that's reasonable.

Copyright © 2010 Nick Corcodilos. All rights reserved. Ask The Headhunter® is a registered trademark. Nick Corcodilos is president of North Bridge Group, Inc. and the author of two new e-books, How to Work with Headhunters and How Can I Change Careers? He shares his contrarian advice and hopes to learn a lot from you, too. Got questions or comments? Please join the discussion!

Post originale: http://career-resources.dice.com/articles/content/entry/ask_the_headhunter_how_do4

Jim Brady, Boss Of Hot Local News Site TBD, Out After Silly Fight About "Content OR Aggregation"

The general manager of hot local-news site TBD, Jim Brady, is out after what sounds like a disagreement with TBD publisher (and owner) Robert Albritton.

The cause of the departure appears to have been an argument about whether TBD should grow by adding more "content" (original reporting) or "aggregation" (links to third-party content).

(Brady disputes this, but Albritton's memo makes it sound like it was an issue.)

In a reversal of the usual positions in this argument, publisher and money-man Albritton appears to want more original content, and Brady, the former executive editor of the Washington Post, wants (or wanted) content AND aggregation.

In case anyone's wondering who's "right" about what TBD should do, the answer is...Brady. 

The online medium has made the distinction between "content" and "aggregation" irrelevant. Or, more specifically, it has turned aggregation into a form of content--and a very valuable one at that.  The most successful online media companies, such as Huffington Post and Gawker Media, incorporate both original content AND aggregation.  And that's why they are drubbing both the pure aggregators and the pure "content" companies.

And before you fall for the whining about how "aggregation" is a sort of parasitical behavior that steals the work of others, note that "aggregation as a form of content" is nothing new: TV and radio news outlets have been "aggregating content" for decades--by broadcasting news gathered by newspapers. And newspapers themselves have been reporting the work of other newspapers for centuries.

So this whole argument about "content vs aggregation" is silly, especially in a world in which millions of sources are only a click away. 

If Albritton wants TBD to win a couple of Pulitzer prizes, fine, he should hire a few more Washington Post reporters.  But if he wants the site to become a huge, influential commercial success that helps support a network of hundreds of local bloggers, he should ALSO keep investing in aggregation and technology.

Fishbowl has Albritton's memo >

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See Also:

• Here's Why New Local Startup TBD.com Is So Important
• Washington Post Is Condescending And "Passive Aggressive" About Its Newest Competitor: D.C. Startup TBD.com
• "Recent digital media launches -- Capital New York, D.C.-focused TBD.com and Yahoo’s Upshot -- have the potent...

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