Like rats from a sinking ship

Being burrow dwellers by nature, rats live in the deepest recesses of the ship, in the bilge. This area is so low as to be almost inaccessible to the sailors. Thus the rats become aware of water entering the ship some time before the crew is alerted. As their nesting places are flooded, the rodents are impelled to flee the ship. Their continuous shrill cries of alarm quickly summon the rest of the rats from the hold. They build up into a large, frightened mass of rodents making a panicky exodus. This is, of course, a final calamity for the rats, since they will try to swim to eternity and usually do.

It is quite natural that a sight such as this would incite the passengers and crew to an equally hasty, harried departure but one that ends less disastrously. So when a series of high profile desertions happen in a company as big as Yahoo, you know what to make of it.

Microsoft, thwarted in its efforts to acquire all or part of Yahoo, would likely be happy to talk with any such big-name defectors, but in seeking to catch the overflow from the Yahoo brain drain, it's putting out the welcome mat for any of the discouraged rank and file, particularly those involved in search. It runs ads that scream "There are now very few companies that remain truly committed to defining the future of search and online advertising," the ad reads. "Microsoft is one of them. Come join a company with the resources, engineering expertise, R&D, partnerships and competitive spirit to make it happen."

Mmm, nothing like a big meal of poached Yahoo :)

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"Mr.Jerry Yang, call up Ballmer before you run out of luck"

Yahoo’s troubles seem far from over. It’s getting knocked all over the place. If Steve Ballmer and team destroyed Jerry Yang’s peace for over the last few months, now it’s the turn of his investors training his guns on him for screwing the deal. Carl Icahn is throwing in his might as well.

And now the latest. Imeem has taken over Yahoo's throne by becoming the No. 1 streaming music site in the United States. In what could become another blow to Yahoo, imeem has opened its massive media catalog to third parties with an API that allows outside developers to create music apps that access its library. It's said to be expanding its relationships with music blogs over the next several months. Yahoo, which had acquired large music sites like Broadcast, Launch Media and Musicmatch in order to become the top-ranked music-streaming site in the country, has slipped into second place behind imeem in Compete's list of the top 20 U.S. streaming music sites for March.

I say this to poor Jerry. “Mr.Yang, I suggest you call up Steve Ballmer and ask him to cut that check for $47 billion. You could use some luck if he hasn’t changed his mind completely”.

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Know why? By the time this is all over, we may just see Jerry Yang run weeping into the embrace of Steve Ballmer like he was a long-lost brother. Dealing with Carl Icahn, the corporate world's most annoying back-seat driver, can change a man, make him do things he wouldn't ordinarily do. And now that Icahn has piled up $1.3 billion in Yahoo stock and is seeking FTC clearance to double that, CEO Yang and his brain trust are facing an opponent who makes Microsoft's Ballmer look warm and fuzzy. Jerry Yang will look better in bed with Ballmer than with Icahn.

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I wish him good luck.

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