From Yahoo to Yafoo?

In addition to Microsoft and Newscorp, there are rumors of a third bidder for Yahoo: Yahoo Japan.

What?

Yahoo! is Japanese

Many Japanese believe that Yahoo! (pronounced as “Ya-foo”) is a Japanese brand and they get confused (and sometimes even angry) when faced with the facts. The reason why is a result of a smart brand strategy on the part of the favorite online brand of the Japanese. In order to be successful in Japan’s market, you have to be Japanese—or, at the very least, seem like you’re Japanese.

A company that isn’t owned by a Japanese male is regarded with suspicion. How can a foreigner (or a woman) achieve what very few Japanese people can? In a society of salary men, founding a company is considered an act of madness, or—when successful—as an act of heroism.

Cheap Tricks

This mentality goes far in explaining why most foreigners who own a company in Japan don’t print “CEO” on their business cards. It tends to work out for the best when the Japanese assume your company is owned by a native and not a foreigner. And as a matter of fact, the implications of the very complicated Japanese business culture almost require staffing a Japanese person to deal with Japanese companies. Foreigners usually don’t have the nerve, patience, or cultural understanding to easily seal contracts with Nihonjin.

Strategic Success

Yahoo! has followed this strategy with great success. With its Japanese management and corporate culture, it has become the biggest online property in Japan. In The Land of the Rising Sun, Yahoo! has the power of Google, Yahoo!, Monster, and eBay combined.

For example, eBay’s naïve attempt to enter the Japanese market was one gigantic failure. They put a old woman with a frozen food background born and grown up in Hawaii in charge of the Japanese operations. No, that’s not a joke. Officially, eBay still claims that they failed because they were six months too late.

From Trick to Treat?

Now, what used to be a trick to win the trust of the public might suddenly become reality:

Yahoo Japan could unlock its shares held by Yahoo by swapping them for a large equity stake. Complicated, but not inconceivable, especially if private equity injects some cash—and money managers might be keener on a direct stake in Yahoo Japan than in the U.S. operation.



The key to such a deal would be Softbank, which owns 41 percent of Yahoo Japan. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son has close ties to both Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, who sits on the board of Yahoo Japan.



Softbank also owns 3.9 percent of Yahoo, but it also owns, as does Yahoo, a large stake in Alibaba, the operator of Yahoo China. Alibaba’s management is reportedly restive about the prospect of Microsoft getting a say in their affairs. Softbank might throw its Alibaba stake into the combination, which would give Alibaba an exit in the public markets without the risk of an IPO, and the new Yahoo majority control of its Chinese websites.

So far this is just another valleywag suggestion turned rumor, so let’s examine it from a Japanese perspective.

Why It Won’t Happen

As I understand it, the Japanese won’t be able to close such a deal, because:

1. The required pace for closing such a deal is way too high. It would require months before every member agrees.


2. The Japanese don’t prefer deals with high risk. Yahoo! Japan is doing very well keeping its distance from Yahoo! Inc.


3. Not even Microsoft would dare impose on the most successful Yahoo! branch. Thus, Yafoo has nothing to lose if Microsoft or Newscorp get their claws on it.


4. Managing a global brand from within Japan seems as impossible as the inverse.

Why It Still Might Happen

The main reason it might happen is SoftBank. SoftBank is an incredibly bold, fast and—in that sense—un-japanese company. It has managed to turn the mess that Vodafone created with the JPhone brand into a respectable success. SoftBank also understands the difference between Japanese and Western branding; they’re smart enough to put new Western management in charge of its Western operations outside of Japan.

A second reason is that with the Berseker in charge of Microsoft, you can never really know for sure. If Ballmer operates Yahoo! Japan with the dinosaurical level of precision we’ve learned to expect from him, then maybe the Japanese operation should be fearful of being smashed into pieces in the event of a takeover.

From Yahoo to Yafoo?

In addition to Microsoft and Newscorp, there are rumors of a third bidder for Yahoo: Yahoo Japan.

What?

Yahoo! is Japanese

Many Japanese believe that Yahoo! (pronounced as “Ya-foo”) is a Japanese brand and they get confused (and sometimes even angry) when faced with the facts. The reason why is a result of a smart brand strategy on the part of the favorite online brand of the Japanese. In order to be successful in Japan’s market, you have to be Japanese—or, at the very least, seem like you’re Japanese.

A company that isn’t owned by a Japanese male is regarded with suspicion. How can a foreigner (or a woman) achieve what very few Japanese people can? In a society of salary men, founding a company is considered an act of madness, or—when successful—as an act of heroism.

Cheap Tricks

This mentality goes far in explaining why most foreigners who own a company in Japan don’t print “CEO” on their business cards. It tends to work out for the best when the Japanese assume your company is owned by a native and not a foreigner. And as a matter of fact, the implications of the very complicated Japanese business culture almost require staffing a Japanese person to deal with Japanese companies. Foreigners usually don’t have the nerve, patience, or cultural understanding to easily seal contracts with Nihonjin.

Strategic Success

Yahoo! has followed this strategy with great success. With its Japanese management and corporate culture, it has become the biggest online property in Japan. In The Land of the Rising Sun, Yahoo! has the power of Google, Yahoo!, Monster, and eBay combined.

For example, eBay’s naïve attempt to enter the Japanese market was one gigantic failure. They put a old woman with a frozen food background born and grown up in Hawaii in charge of the Japanese operations. No, that’s not a joke. Officially, eBay still claims that they failed because they were six months too late.

From Trick to Treat?

Now, what used to be a trick to win the trust of the public might suddenly become reality:

Yahoo Japan could unlock its shares held by Yahoo by swapping them for a large equity stake. Complicated, but not inconceivable, especially if private equity injects some cash—and money managers might be keener on a direct stake in Yahoo Japan than in the U.S. operation.



The key to such a deal would be Softbank, which owns 41 percent of Yahoo Japan. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son has close ties to both Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, who sits on the board of Yahoo Japan.



Softbank also owns 3.9 percent of Yahoo, but it also owns, as does Yahoo, a large stake in Alibaba, the operator of Yahoo China. Alibaba’s management is reportedly restive about the prospect of Microsoft getting a say in their affairs. Softbank might throw its Alibaba stake into the combination, which would give Alibaba an exit in the public markets without the risk of an IPO, and the new Yahoo majority control of its Chinese websites.

So far this is just another valleywag suggestion turned rumor, so let’s examine it from a Japanese perspective.

Why It Won’t Happen

As I understand it, the Japanese won’t be able to close such a deal, because:

1. The required pace for closing such a deal is way too high. It would require months before every member agrees.


2. The Japanese don’t prefer deals with high risk. Yahoo! Japan is doing very well keeping its distance from Yahoo! Inc.


3. Not even Microsoft would dare impose on the most successful Yahoo! branch. Thus, Yafoo has nothing to lose if Microsoft or Newscorp get their claws on it.


4. Managing a global brand from within Japan seems as impossible as the inverse.

Why It Still Might Happen

The main reason it might happen is SoftBank. SoftBank is an incredibly bold, fast and—in that sense—un-japanese company. It has managed to turn the mess that Vodafone created with the JPhone brand into a respectable success. SoftBank also understands the difference between Japanese and Western branding; they’re smart enough to put new Western management in charge of its Western operations outside of Japan.

A second reason is that with the Berseker in charge of Microsoft, you can never really know for sure. If Ballmer operates Yahoo! Japan with the dinosaurical level of precision we’ve learned to expect from him, then maybe the Japanese operation should be fearful of being smashed into pieces in the event of a takeover.

From Yahoo to Yafoo?

In addition to Microsoft and Newscorp, there are rumors of a third bidder for Yahoo: Yahoo Japan.

What?

Yahoo! is Japanese

Many Japanese believe that Yahoo! (pronounced as “Ya-foo”) is a Japanese brand and they get confused (and sometimes even angry) when faced with the facts. The reason why is a result of a smart brand strategy on the part of the favorite online brand of the Japanese. In order to be successful in Japan’s market, you have to be Japanese—or, at the very least, seem like you’re Japanese.

A company that isn’t owned by a Japanese male is regarded with suspicion. How can a foreigner (or a woman) achieve what very few Japanese people can? In a society of salary men, founding a company is considered an act of madness, or—when successful—as an act of heroism.

Cheap Tricks

This mentality goes far in explaining why most foreigners who own a company in Japan don’t print “CEO” on their business cards. It tends to work out for the best when the Japanese assume your company is owned by a native and not a foreigner. And as a matter of fact, the implications of the very complicated Japanese business culture almost require staffing a Japanese person to deal with Japanese companies. Foreigners usually don’t have the nerve, patience, or cultural understanding to easily seal contracts with Nihonjin.

Strategic Success

Yahoo! has followed this strategy with great success. With its Japanese management and corporate culture, it has become the biggest online property in Japan. In The Land of the Rising Sun, Yahoo! has the power of Google, Yahoo!, Monster, and eBay combined.

For example, eBay’s naïve attempt to enter the Japanese market was one gigantic failure. They put a old woman with a frozen food background born and grown up in Hawaii in charge of the Japanese operations. No, that’s not a joke. Officially, eBay still claims that they failed because they were six months too late.

From Trick to Treat?

Now, what used to be a trick to win the trust of the public might suddenly become reality:

Yahoo Japan could unlock its shares held by Yahoo by swapping them for a large equity stake. Complicated, but not inconceivable, especially if private equity injects some cash—and money managers might be keener on a direct stake in Yahoo Japan than in the U.S. operation.



The key to such a deal would be Softbank, which owns 41 percent of Yahoo Japan. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son has close ties to both Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, who sits on the board of Yahoo Japan.



Softbank also owns 3.9 percent of Yahoo, but it also owns, as does Yahoo, a large stake in Alibaba, the operator of Yahoo China. Alibaba’s management is reportedly restive about the prospect of Microsoft getting a say in their affairs. Softbank might throw its Alibaba stake into the combination, which would give Alibaba an exit in the public markets without the risk of an IPO, and the new Yahoo majority control of its Chinese websites.

So far this is just another valleywag suggestion turned rumor, so let’s examine it from a Japanese perspective.

Why It Won’t Happen

As I understand it, the Japanese won’t be able to close such a deal, because:

1. The required pace for closing such a deal is way too high. It would require months before every member agrees.


2. The Japanese don’t prefer deals with high risk. Yahoo! Japan is doing very well keeping its distance from Yahoo! Inc.


3. Not even Microsoft would dare impose on the most successful Yahoo! branch. Thus, Yafoo has nothing to lose if Microsoft or Newscorp get their claws on it.


4. Managing a global brand from within Japan seems as impossible as the inverse.

Why It Still Might Happen

The main reason it might happen is SoftBank. SoftBank is an incredibly bold, fast and—in that sense—un-japanese company. It has managed to turn the mess that Vodafone created with the JPhone brand into a respectable success. SoftBank also understands the difference between Japanese and Western branding; they’re smart enough to put new Western management in charge of its Western operations outside of Japan.

A second reason is that with the Berseker in charge of Microsoft, you can never really know for sure. If Ballmer operates Yahoo! Japan with the dinosaurical level of precision we’ve learned to expect from him, then maybe the Japanese operation should be fearful of being smashed into pieces in the event of a takeover.

From Yahoo to Yafoo?

In addition to Microsoft and Newscorp, there are rumors of a third bidder for Yahoo: Yahoo Japan.

What?

Yahoo! is Japanese

Many Japanese believe that Yahoo! (pronounced as “Ya-foo”) is a Japanese brand and they get confused (and sometimes even angry) when faced with the facts. The reason why is a result of a smart brand strategy on the part of the favorite online brand of the Japanese. In order to be successful in Japan’s market, you have to be Japanese—or, at the very least, seem like you’re Japanese.

A company that isn’t owned by a Japanese male is regarded with suspicion. How can a foreigner (or a woman) achieve what very few Japanese people can? In a society of salary men, founding a company is considered an act of madness, or—when successful—as an act of heroism.

Cheap Tricks

This mentality goes far in explaining why most foreigners who own a company in Japan don’t print “CEO” on their business cards. It tends to work out for the best when the Japanese assume your company is owned by a native and not a foreigner. And as a matter of fact, the implications of the very complicated Japanese business culture almost require staffing a Japanese person to deal with Japanese companies. Foreigners usually don’t have the nerve, patience, or cultural understanding to easily seal contracts with Nihonjin.

Strategic Success

Yahoo! has followed this strategy with great success. With its Japanese management and corporate culture, it has become the biggest online property in Japan. In The Land of the Rising Sun, Yahoo! has the power of Google, Yahoo!, Monster, and eBay combined.

For example, eBay’s naïve attempt to enter the Japanese market was one gigantic failure. They put a old woman with a frozen food background born and grown up in Hawaii in charge of the Japanese operations. No, that’s not a joke. Officially, eBay still claims that they failed because they were six months too late.

From Trick to Treat?

Now, what used to be a trick to win the trust of the public might suddenly become reality:

Yahoo Japan could unlock its shares held by Yahoo by swapping them for a large equity stake. Complicated, but not inconceivable, especially if private equity injects some cash—and money managers might be keener on a direct stake in Yahoo Japan than in the U.S. operation.



The key to such a deal would be Softbank, which owns 41 percent of Yahoo Japan. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son has close ties to both Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, who sits on the board of Yahoo Japan.



Softbank also owns 3.9 percent of Yahoo, but it also owns, as does Yahoo, a large stake in Alibaba, the operator of Yahoo China. Alibaba’s management is reportedly restive about the prospect of Microsoft getting a say in their affairs. Softbank might throw its Alibaba stake into the combination, which would give Alibaba an exit in the public markets without the risk of an IPO, and the new Yahoo majority control of its Chinese websites.

So far this is just another valleywag suggestion turned rumor, so let’s examine it from a Japanese perspective.

Why It Won’t Happen

As I understand it, the Japanese won’t be able to close such a deal, because:

1. The required pace for closing such a deal is way too high. It would require months before every member agrees.


2. The Japanese don’t prefer deals with high risk. Yahoo! Japan is doing very well keeping its distance from Yahoo! Inc.


3. Not even Microsoft would dare impose on the most successful Yahoo! branch. Thus, Yafoo has nothing to lose if Microsoft or Newscorp get their claws on it.


4. Managing a global brand from within Japan seems as impossible as the inverse.

Why It Still Might Happen

The main reason it might happen is SoftBank. SoftBank is an incredibly bold, fast and—in that sense—un-japanese company. It has managed to turn the mess that Vodafone created with the JPhone brand into a respectable success. SoftBank also understands the difference between Japanese and Western branding; they’re smart enough to put new Western management in charge of its Western operations outside of Japan.

A second reason is that with the Berseker in charge of Microsoft, you can never really know for sure. If Ballmer operates Yahoo! Japan with the dinosaurical level of precision we’ve learned to expect from him, then maybe the Japanese operation should be fearful of being smashed into pieces in the event of a takeover.

From Yahoo to Yafoo?

In addition to Microsoft and Newscorp, there are rumors of a third bidder for Yahoo: Yahoo Japan.

What?

Yahoo! is Japanese

Many Japanese believe that Yahoo! (pronounced as “Ya-foo”) is a Japanese brand and they get confused (and sometimes even angry) when faced with the facts. The reason why is a result of a smart brand strategy on the part of the favorite online brand of the Japanese. In order to be successful in Japan’s market, you have to be Japanese—or, at the very least, seem like you’re Japanese.

A company that isn’t owned by a Japanese male is regarded with suspicion. How can a foreigner (or a woman) achieve what very few Japanese people can? In a society of salary men, founding a company is considered an act of madness, or—when successful—as an act of heroism.

Cheap Tricks

This mentality goes far in explaining why most foreigners who own a company in Japan don’t print “CEO” on their business cards. It tends to work out for the best when the Japanese assume your company is owned by a native and not a foreigner. And as a matter of fact, the implications of the very complicated Japanese business culture almost require staffing a Japanese person to deal with Japanese companies. Foreigners usually don’t have the nerve, patience, or cultural understanding to easily seal contracts with Nihonjin.

Strategic Success

Yahoo! has followed this strategy with great success. With its Japanese management and corporate culture, it has become the biggest online property in Japan. In The Land of the Rising Sun, Yahoo! has the power of Google, Yahoo!, Monster, and eBay combined.

For example, eBay’s naïve attempt to enter the Japanese market was one gigantic failure. They put a old woman with a frozen food background born and grown up in Hawaii in charge of the Japanese operations. No, that’s not a joke. Officially, eBay still claims that they failed because they were six months too late.

From Trick to Treat?

Now, what used to be a trick to win the trust of the public might suddenly become reality:

Yahoo Japan could unlock its shares held by Yahoo by swapping them for a large equity stake. Complicated, but not inconceivable, especially if private equity injects some cash—and money managers might be keener on a direct stake in Yahoo Japan than in the U.S. operation.



The key to such a deal would be Softbank, which owns 41 percent of Yahoo Japan. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son has close ties to both Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, who sits on the board of Yahoo Japan.



Softbank also owns 3.9 percent of Yahoo, but it also owns, as does Yahoo, a large stake in Alibaba, the operator of Yahoo China. Alibaba’s management is reportedly restive about the prospect of Microsoft getting a say in their affairs. Softbank might throw its Alibaba stake into the combination, which would give Alibaba an exit in the public markets without the risk of an IPO, and the new Yahoo majority control of its Chinese websites.

So far this is just another valleywag suggestion turned rumor, so let’s examine it from a Japanese perspective.

Why It Won’t Happen

As I understand it, the Japanese won’t be able to close such a deal, because:

1. The required pace for closing such a deal is way too high. It would require months before every member agrees.


2. The Japanese don’t prefer deals with high risk. Yahoo! Japan is doing very well keeping its distance from Yahoo! Inc.


3. Not even Microsoft would dare impose on the most successful Yahoo! branch. Thus, Yafoo has nothing to lose if Microsoft or Newscorp get their claws on it.


4. Managing a global brand from within Japan seems as impossible as the inverse.

Why It Still Might Happen

The main reason it might happen is SoftBank. SoftBank is an incredibly bold, fast and—in that sense—un-japanese company. It has managed to turn the mess that Vodafone created with the JPhone brand into a respectable success. SoftBank also understands the difference between Japanese and Western branding; they’re smart enough to put new Western management in charge of its Western operations outside of Japan.

A second reason is that with the Berseker in charge of Microsoft, you can never really know for sure. If Ballmer operates Yahoo! Japan with the dinosaurical level of precision we’ve learned to expect from him, then maybe the Japanese operation should be fearful of being smashed into pieces in the event of a takeover.

From Yahoo to Yafoo?

In addition to Microsoft and Newscorp, there are rumors of a third bidder for Yahoo: Yahoo Japan.

What?

Yahoo! is Japanese

Many Japanese believe that Yahoo! (pronounced as “Ya-foo”) is a Japanese brand and they get confused (and sometimes even angry) when faced with the facts. The reason why is a result of a smart brand strategy on the part of the favorite online brand of the Japanese. In order to be successful in Japan’s market, you have to be Japanese—or, at the very least, seem like you’re Japanese.

A company that isn’t owned by a Japanese male is regarded with suspicion. How can a foreigner (or a woman) achieve what very few Japanese people can? In a society of salary men, founding a company is considered an act of madness, or—when successful—as an act of heroism.

Cheap Tricks

This mentality goes far in explaining why most foreigners who own a company in Japan don’t print “CEO” on their business cards. It tends to work out for the best when the Japanese assume your company is owned by a native and not a foreigner. And as a matter of fact, the implications of the very complicated Japanese business culture almost require staffing a Japanese person to deal with Japanese companies. Foreigners usually don’t have the nerve, patience, or cultural understanding to easily seal contracts with Nihonjin.

Strategic Success

Yahoo! has followed this strategy with great success. With its Japanese management and corporate culture, it has become the biggest online property in Japan. In The Land of the Rising Sun, Yahoo! has the power of Google, Yahoo!, Monster, and eBay combined.

For example, eBay’s naïve attempt to enter the Japanese market was one gigantic failure. They put a old woman with a frozen food background born and grown up in Hawaii in charge of the Japanese operations. No, that’s not a joke. Officially, eBay still claims that they failed because they were six months too late.

From Trick to Treat?

Now, what used to be a trick to win the trust of the public might suddenly become reality:

Yahoo Japan could unlock its shares held by Yahoo by swapping them for a large equity stake. Complicated, but not inconceivable, especially if private equity injects some cash—and money managers might be keener on a direct stake in Yahoo Japan than in the U.S. operation.



The key to such a deal would be Softbank, which owns 41 percent of Yahoo Japan. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son has close ties to both Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, who sits on the board of Yahoo Japan.



Softbank also owns 3.9 percent of Yahoo, but it also owns, as does Yahoo, a large stake in Alibaba, the operator of Yahoo China. Alibaba’s management is reportedly restive about the prospect of Microsoft getting a say in their affairs. Softbank might throw its Alibaba stake into the combination, which would give Alibaba an exit in the public markets without the risk of an IPO, and the new Yahoo majority control of its Chinese websites.

So far this is just another valleywag suggestion turned rumor, so let’s examine it from a Japanese perspective.

Why It Won’t Happen

As I understand it, the Japanese won’t be able to close such a deal, because:

1. The required pace for closing such a deal is way too high. It would require months before every member agrees.


2. The Japanese don’t prefer deals with high risk. Yahoo! Japan is doing very well keeping its distance from Yahoo! Inc.


3. Not even Microsoft would dare impose on the most successful Yahoo! branch. Thus, Yafoo has nothing to lose if Microsoft or Newscorp get their claws on it.


4. Managing a global brand from within Japan seems as impossible as the inverse.

Why It Still Might Happen

The main reason it might happen is SoftBank. SoftBank is an incredibly bold, fast and—in that sense—un-japanese company. It has managed to turn the mess that Vodafone created with the JPhone brand into a respectable success. SoftBank also understands the difference between Japanese and Western branding; they’re smart enough to put new Western management in charge of its Western operations outside of Japan.

A second reason is that with the Berseker in charge of Microsoft, you can never really know for sure. If Ballmer operates Yahoo! Japan with the dinosaurical level of precision we’ve learned to expect from him, then maybe the Japanese operation should be fearful of being smashed into pieces in the event of a takeover.

From Yahoo to Yafoo?

In addition to Microsoft and Newscorp, there are rumors of a third bidder for Yahoo: Yahoo Japan.

What?

Yahoo! is Japanese

Many Japanese believe that Yahoo! (pronounced as “Ya-foo”) is a Japanese brand and they get confused (and sometimes even angry) when faced with the facts. The reason why is a result of a smart brand strategy on the part of the favorite online brand of the Japanese. In order to be successful in Japan’s market, you have to be Japanese—or, at the very least, seem like you’re Japanese.

A company that isn’t owned by a Japanese male is regarded with suspicion. How can a foreigner (or a woman) achieve what very few Japanese people can? In a society of salary men, founding a company is considered an act of madness, or—when successful—as an act of heroism.

Cheap Tricks

This mentality goes far in explaining why most foreigners who own a company in Japan don’t print “CEO” on their business cards. It tends to work out for the best when the Japanese assume your company is owned by a native and not a foreigner. And as a matter of fact, the implications of the very complicated Japanese business culture almost require staffing a Japanese person to deal with Japanese companies. Foreigners usually don’t have the nerve, patience, or cultural understanding to easily seal contracts with Nihonjin.

Strategic Success

Yahoo! has followed this strategy with great success. With its Japanese management and corporate culture, it has become the biggest online property in Japan. In The Land of the Rising Sun, Yahoo! has the power of Google, Yahoo!, Monster, and eBay combined.

For example, eBay’s naïve attempt to enter the Japanese market was one gigantic failure. They put a old woman with a frozen food background born and grown up in Hawaii in charge of the Japanese operations. No, that’s not a joke. Officially, eBay still claims that they failed because they were six months too late.

From Trick to Treat?

Now, what used to be a trick to win the trust of the public might suddenly become reality:

Yahoo Japan could unlock its shares held by Yahoo by swapping them for a large equity stake. Complicated, but not inconceivable, especially if private equity injects some cash—and money managers might be keener on a direct stake in Yahoo Japan than in the U.S. operation.



The key to such a deal would be Softbank, which owns 41 percent of Yahoo Japan. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son has close ties to both Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, who sits on the board of Yahoo Japan.



Softbank also owns 3.9 percent of Yahoo, but it also owns, as does Yahoo, a large stake in Alibaba, the operator of Yahoo China. Alibaba’s management is reportedly restive about the prospect of Microsoft getting a say in their affairs. Softbank might throw its Alibaba stake into the combination, which would give Alibaba an exit in the public markets without the risk of an IPO, and the new Yahoo majority control of its Chinese websites.

So far this is just another valleywag suggestion turned rumor, so let’s examine it from a Japanese perspective.

Why It Won’t Happen

As I understand it, the Japanese won’t be able to close such a deal, because:

1. The required pace for closing such a deal is way too high. It would require months before every member agrees.


2. The Japanese don’t prefer deals with high risk. Yahoo! Japan is doing very well keeping its distance from Yahoo! Inc.


3. Not even Microsoft would dare impose on the most successful Yahoo! branch. Thus, Yafoo has nothing to lose if Microsoft or Newscorp get their claws on it.


4. Managing a global brand from within Japan seems as impossible as the inverse.

Why It Still Might Happen

The main reason it might happen is SoftBank. SoftBank is an incredibly bold, fast and—in that sense—un-japanese company. It has managed to turn the mess that Vodafone created with the JPhone brand into a respectable success. SoftBank also understands the difference between Japanese and Western branding; they’re smart enough to put new Western management in charge of its Western operations outside of Japan.

A second reason is that with the Berseker in charge of Microsoft, you can never really know for sure. If Ballmer operates Yahoo! Japan with the dinosaurical level of precision we’ve learned to expect from him, then maybe the Japanese operation should be fearful of being smashed into pieces in the event of a takeover.

E.T. and his iPhone

Edward Tufte is big when it comes to information graphics in books—but a quick glimpse at his site will reveal that he is not the man to trust when it comes to interaction design.—Don’t beat an old man even if he’s throwing dirt they say, but when we saw him correcting Apple’s iPhone as if it was the white paper of one of his first year college students the iA alarm bells went of…

There is just too much randomness in this little lecture. Here we have a slide from the video, a gallery page on the iPhone:

His critique?

“The line between the pictures should be one pixel and grey.”

One might have a little debate about the more or less random one pixel assumption (bigger thumbnails perhaps?), but in order to have a clear contrast between each picture the line needs to be white.

Why? Because the contrast between solid white and any other color is, at best, 100% (white or black). The degree of contrast between 50% gray and any other color is, at best, 50% (gray to black or gray to white). When the 50% gray is a solid, 1px line between images that are of varying colors, the apparent visual contrast is reduced proportionally. Maybe we should have been college professors instead of designers though. Then we could make obnoxious claims rather than working.

Here’s another, this time from the stock exchange screen of the iPhone:

“The iPhone stock exchange page looks like a power point slide. Strong colors and zebra stripes, but not much information. Down below a modest datagraphic cartoon.”

His criticism is that it is too “carthhhuuuny.” It looks like Excell or Powerpoint. What? Whatever that means, changing the above into the following unreadable amateur sketch is not a solution:

Straight out of a book. Difficult to scan. No immediately recognizable hierarchy. Requires zooming. I’m still not sure what we’re even looking at. And the Gill Sans… dude! Are you serious?

Maybe it’s just a sketch; an illustration of an idea and not necessarily the improvement he’d like to see. After all, by this point he’s a little vague on the reasoning and evidence to his claims. Let’s hope he comes up with something that proves he knows what he’s talking about.

“The button bar steals away fully 10% of the screen.”

Sure, fully ten percent of the screen can be considered a waste of valuable screen real estate. So what would you suggest professor?

“It should be transparent.”

Making it a transparent thief of valuable screen real estate does little to solve the problem. As the top bar in Leopard demonstrates, transparent bars can be more of an annoyance than a viable design solution. There are other alternatives worthy of consideration, but again, that’s a job for a designer, not a college professor.

Next, the professor adds the final nail to his design coffin with a rehash of the weather forecast:

“Why not show a dynamic weather forecast and use the magnificent resolution?”

Why not? Because doing so would result in distracting, uninformative clutter.

This slide should be painful for any designer to look at. It takes the clear and readable original format, compresses it to a tiny corner of the screen, adds worthless text (set in his beloved Gill Sans), then visually rapes half the screen with a moving graphic requiring a degree in meteorology to derive any substantial meaning from. Overload and clutter are not attributes of information, they are a failure of design. Wouldn’t you agree, professor?

“Overload and clutter are not attributes of information, they are failure of design.”

I’m glad we’re on the same page. In conclusion, his theory is: “To clarify, add detail.” Our tip: To understand interaction design, you need to practice it.

E.T. and his iPhone

Edward Tufte is big when it comes to information graphics in books—but a quick glimpse at his site will reveal that he is not the man to trust when it comes to interaction design.—Don’t beat an old man even if he’s throwing dirt they say, but when we saw him correcting Apple’s iPhone as if it was the white paper of one of his first year college students the iA alarm bells went of…

There is just too much randomness in this little lecture. Here we have a slide from the video, a gallery page on the iPhone:

His critique?

“The line between the pictures should be one pixel and grey.”

One might have a little debate about the more or less random one pixel assumption (bigger thumbnails perhaps?), but in order to have a clear contrast between each picture the line needs to be white.

Why? Because the contrast between solid white and any other color is, at best, 100% (white or black). The degree of contrast between 50% gray and any other color is, at best, 50% (gray to black or gray to white). When the 50% gray is a solid, 1px line between images that are of varying colors, the apparent visual contrast is reduced proportionally. Maybe we should have been college professors instead of designers though. Then we could make obnoxious claims rather than working.

Here’s another, this time from the stock exchange screen of the iPhone:

“The iPhone stock exchange page looks like a power point slide. Strong colors and zebra stripes, but not much information. Down below a modest datagraphic cartoon.”

His criticism is that it is too “carthhhuuuny.” It looks like Excell or Powerpoint. What? Whatever that means, changing the above into the following unreadable amateur sketch is not a solution:

Straight out of a book. Difficult to scan. No immediately recognizable hierarchy. Requires zooming. I’m still not sure what we’re even looking at. And the Gill Sans… dude! Are you serious?

Maybe it’s just a sketch; an illustration of an idea and not necessarily the improvement he’d like to see. After all, by this point he’s a little vague on the reasoning and evidence to his claims. Let’s hope he comes up with something that proves he knows what he’s talking about.

“The button bar steals away fully 10% of the screen.”

Sure, fully ten percent of the screen can be considered a waste of valuable screen real estate. So what would you suggest professor?

“It should be transparent.”

Making it a transparent thief of valuable screen real estate does little to solve the problem. As the top bar in Leopard demonstrates, transparent bars can be more of an annoyance than a viable design solution. There are other alternatives worthy of consideration, but again, that’s a job for a designer, not a college professor.

Next, the professor adds the final nail to his design coffin with a rehash of the weather forecast:

“Why not show a dynamic weather forecast and use the magnificent resolution?”

Why not? Because doing so would result in distracting, uninformative clutter.

This slide should be painful for any designer to look at. It takes the clear and readable original format, compresses it to a tiny corner of the screen, adds worthless text (set in his beloved Gill Sans), then visually rapes half the screen with a moving graphic requiring a degree in meteorology to derive any substantial meaning from. Overload and clutter are not attributes of information, they are a failure of design. Wouldn’t you agree, professor?

“Overload and clutter are not attributes of information, they are failure of design.”

I’m glad we’re on the same page. In conclusion, his theory is: “To clarify, add detail.” Our tip: To understand interaction design, you need to practice it.