Valley Un-rumours

So Semel is out at Yahoo! then, eh? Seems like Yang's annointed successor is no longer in the driving seat, instead being shuffled to the (non) role of Chairman.

I remember when this - i.e. his joining Yahoo! - all went down in 2001, it was lauded as "Hollywood takes over Silicon Valley". Of course, it's the reverse that's really happening, with the likes of Apple, Netflix and others leading the charge to help the celluloid barons down south understand that the world is changing and that they are better off getting with the program than they are trying to slap security around it and hold back the digital tide.

Anyway, Yahoo! is trading up after the close so I guess that's Wall Street's vote in and counted! Of course, Semel did a lot of good things in fixing up Yahoo! (it was a basket case when he got there) but when the benchmark is Google it was always going to be tough to go toe-to-toe with the top dogs in Mountain View.

Can Yang do a Jobs and revitalise Yahoo! once again? I wouldn't bet on it ...