The “Lost” Endings You Didn’t See

Jeff Probst defeats Sayid, Hurley does his best Tony Soprano, and the inevitable Kate-Bob Newhart link-up.

What Shall BoomTown Ask the Twits–Oops, I Mean Twitter-Loving VCs–at Chirp Today?

Later today at Twitter’s Chirp conference in San Francisco, BoomTown is moderating a panel titled “Investing in the Ecosystem.” Or as I like to call it, “How Do You VCs Come Up With Those Crazy Valuations: Magic 8-Ball? Ouiji Board? Darts?” I have a choice group of dudes–of course, they are all dudes–for the panel, all of whom have invested in a range of start-ups, including Twitter. Presumably, the group will give the audience the 411 on what goes into finding, feeding and nurturing the many start-ups that populate the Twitterverse.

The One-Year Report Card of Yahoo's Carol Bartz–Management: A-

Yesterday, BoomTown wished Carol Bartz a happy one-year anniversary as CEO of Yahoo. And today, it is time to shamelessly judge her tenure! First up: An evaluation of her decisive management style and tough-talking leadership.
grade-a-minus

Would Microsoft's New Search Name Smell as Sweet if It Were Named After a Cherry or a Soprano?

What’s in a name? Well, a lot, actually, and BoomTown supposes it would be just like those Pacific Northwest types at Microsoft to name the new version of its search service “Bing,” presumably after the cherry that is a big product in the company’s home state. That moniker is one of many being bandied about in a group the software giant could be considering for the big relaunch of its search service, which it has been prepping. But Microsoft should forget the fruity metaphor, also rename its MSN online service “Bada” and use this motto: “Bada Bing, Bada Boom, Notta Bada Algorithm!”
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A Garlinghouse Memorial: BoomTown Decodes the Infamous "Peanut Butter Manifesto"

Now that he’s officially–well, Yahoo has not said so, but it is so–leaving the company this later summer, what say we blame Brad Garlinghouse for all the woes of Yahoo! After all, Garlinghouse’s infamous “Peanut Butter Manifesto” was the key Ur-moment that one could point to as the one in which the curtains were pulled back at the troubled Internet company to reveal, well, a very sticky mess. The 2006 internal document, penned by the Yahoo senior vice president, essentially unfairly impugned delicious peanut butter by using it as a metaphor for Yahoo spreading its resources too thinly. So, as a memorial to the Garlinghouse era, BoomTown decodes the manifesto.