Valleywag
TIM FAULKNER — Elinor Mills of CNET details the puke-worthy internal branding and evangelism conducted at Yahoo as proclaimed (presumably proudly) by Cammie Dunaway, chief marketing officer at the second-place search company, during her keynote speech at the Liquid Agency Brand Summit 2007.
Yahoo offers contests for the most dedicated evangelist among its 13,000 global employees [...] Employees who do things like ask people who don't work for Yahoo "Do you Yahoo?", memorize the company's mission statement and wear Yahoo gear to the office for a day can win trips paid for by the company, she says. Even visitors to Yahoo offices see purple everywhere, from the oversize, purple velvet seats in the lobbies to the purple sprinkler heads in the lawns as the company tries to embed its purple, fun image into people's consciousness.
Apparently, the monoculture of IBM is not dead. It's been Barney-fied, reborn cheesy and annoying — I mean "fun". I hope Cammie understands anyone coming up to a stranger asking, "Do you Yahoo?" is going to be turned away, if not assaulted, quicker than a purple Jehovah's witness, not perceived as "brand marketing savvy."
It's rumored that Jeff Weiner, Yahoo golden child, is even printing a Little Purple Book so that the purple masses can imprint and recite in chorus the new corporate mission statement: "To connect people to their passions, communities, and the world's knowledge... To connect people to their passions, communities, and the world's knowledge... To connect people to their passions, communities, and the world's knowledge..."
Comments
Thanks for that. I work for IBM, and I can say we don't have near this kind of "monoculture." After all, we're, y'know, ADULTS. Y'all in the Valley might want to try it sometime.
Does anyone else think the carping tone of Valleywag is getting a bit lame? It seems the writers have nothing but contempt for everyone and everything in our little part of the world.
I suggest you check in with your colleagues at Deadspin. They poke fun at sport but obviously love it. They are also funny. You guys only love your own soap-box and egos.
The Yahoos I know absolutely covet any BLACK sharpie they can get their hands on - as 99% of the available sharpies at Yahoo! are said Purple.
The story I heard was that Yellow and Purple were the cheapest colors of paint available at the company's first headquarters.
"Do you Yahoo!" That's sooooooo last millenium
I preferred 'Yahoo! That Bitch" now we're cookin'
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-FDuiCSg4eqinB8z.GGJ7TmAz?p=...
"Does anyone else think the carping tone of Valleywag is getting a bit lame?"
No.
"It seems the writers have nothing but contempt for everyone and everything in our little part of the world."
Would that be Yahoo's part of the world, or PR's part of the world, or technology in general? If you're referring to either of the first two, the contempt is generally deserved.
@Rockwell: oh well - I guess that's me told
@renaissancechambara: We still have a chance to make that the decade's top catchphrase! "Yahoo that bitch!"
pimpmyPR - oh come on there is nothing like be grumpy cantankerous cynical and horrible to everyone. I should know, I'm English.
Valleywag will evolve - and hopefully along the same acid tounged but ultimately self-deprecating lines of Bazil in Fawlty Towers ... aloof but flawed self assuredness. The last thing we need is another balanced benefit-of-the-doubt tech blog or writer targetting their pet hates but lavishing praise and defence on their loves.
Target everyone thats what I say! ... surely a worthy goal by any blog's standards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB0d0COybJ0
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