2008: Yahoo's year to forget

17.12.2008
For Jerry Yang, 2008 was going to be the year when Yahoo's long-awaited technology and business turnaround began in earnest.

After years of decline at the expense of Google and nimble startups like Facebook, MySpace and YouTube, Yahoo would come roaring back and eventually reclaim its position as the ruler of the Internet roost. Leading the comeback, Yang would reprise the role Steve Jobs played after retaking Apple's helm.

Yang, a Yahoo co-founder, had taken over as CEO in mid-2007 to save his company. Optimism ran high. Some pundits said no one knew Yahoo better than Yang, and that he had the mix of technical and business knowledge to right the ship.

After several corporate reorganizations in 2006 and 2007, Yahoo finally had the right structure in place, the company's upper management argued.

Yang's goals were ambitious: Make Yahoo the preferred starting point for users, the preferred marketing vehicle for online advertisers and the preferred Web application platform for external developers.

In short, Yang would ensure that when the 2008 holiday season rolled around, Yahoo investors, partners and employees would have plenty to be jolly about.