3 posts and columns on Animal House

MySpace to Hold a Remain-Calm-All-Is-Well Meeting Today for Staff–Here Are Five Questions Someone Should Ask

in News on February 18, 2010 at 5:07 am PT

MySpace has apparently scheduled an all-hands meeting today, which one source noted is to talk about the new order and to rally the likely much dispirited troops at the struggling social networking site. With the sudden firing of relatively recently installed CEO Owen Van Natta last week by News Corp. digital head Jon Miller, it will be up to the two new co-presidents he installed, Jason Hirschhorn and Mike Jones, to give MySpacers a whole lot of reason to believe they can reinvigorate a site that seems woefully resistant to revival so far. If BoomTown were there–and don’t assume I am not skulking around, boys–here are five basic questions I would want to answered by the new leaders, including Miller (who is clearly the silent third partner here).

Tech Stocks Off the Deep End: But Ignore the Panic

in News on October 6, 2008 at 2:13 pm PT

Just as there is a tendency to inanely cheerlead the tech sector valuations on the way up, there is inevitably the equally ridiculous overreaction to the downward slide going on right now for digital companies. Thus, while by no means the weakest sector of the economy, a range of tech stocks got hammered today in the markets, getting dragged down with the market at large as investors continued to fret about a sustained worldwide recession that government bailouts could not prevent.

Rumors of Jerry Yang's Dethroning Are Greatly Exaggerated

in News on May 7, 2008 at 12:38 am PT

Off with the Yahoo CEO’s head! OK, maybe not so much, at least today. Indeed, according to many sources, Jerry Yang’s head still sits squarely on his neck. And, moreover, his job as CEO has not been usurped by Yahoo (YHOO) Chairman Roy Bostock, who was allegedly–as one rumor went–authorized by Yahoo’s board, instead of [...]