Yahoo!'s Interim CEO Doing the Right Things

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Yesterday I tweeted that I think Ross Levinsohn is doing a great job as interim CEO at Yahoo! (YHOO_).

I quickly got a response from tech blogger Om Malik wondering whether Ross had really done that much: "[A]nd what exactly is he doing except got the Asian equity selloff. Let's judge him in a year, not in days."

When I responded I thought that was a fair point but the leaked strategy to Business Insider looked like the best I'd seen from Yahoo! since 2006, Om countered: "[L]eaked strategy is a plan to appease angry investors. Now let's see how well it is executed. Talk is cheap, inaction expensive."

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Forget the Post-PC World. Google Goggles are Preparing for the Post-Phone World.

I've made fun of them, but Google Goggles could be the most significant project at Google since the original work on search.

Read the full post on Forbes

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After Dismissing Mobile for the Last 2 Years, Facebook's Zuckerberg Gets Religion. Will It Matter?

Mobile is going to be the biggest challenge ever faced by Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook.  Here's why.

Read the full post in Forbes

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Eric Jackson on Outlook for Google, Facebook

May 25 (Bloomberg) -- Eric Jackson, founder of Ironfire Capital LLC, talks about the outlook for Facebook Inc. and Google Inc. Jackson speaks with Deirdre Bolton on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop." (Source: Bloomberg)

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How Big Will Alibaba Group Become?

Meet Alibaba Group.  It's soon to become bigger than either Tencent or Baidu.  The biggest Chinese Internet company in the world.

Read the full post in Forbes

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"Mobile Is Going To Crush Facebook"

Is the shift from desktop to mobile happening even faster than expected?

Read the full Forbes post

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Who's to Blame for Botched Facebook IPO?

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- I was at CNBC in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. last Friday when Facebook(FB_) had its initial public offering.

The tension in the room among producers was palpable as the IPO was delayed for half an hour.

Then, suddenly, it opened. The stock quickly jumped to almost $45. There were whoops and clapping atCNBC. People were excited.

However, within 10 minutes, something strange happened. The stock started to fall. It was one long, continuous slide back down to $38, where the underwriters defended it for the rest of the day.

That day, on business TV, the Facebook blame game started. Whose fault was it?

I couldn't have imagined that outcome a few short hours before. I woke up around 6 a.m. that Friday. When I turned on "Squawk Box," there was a sense of excitement similar to the Superbowl for business media. Later that day, people focused on Nasdaq (NDAQ_)and its technical problems. Next, people started pointing fingers at Morgan Stanley (MS_) for retaining too much control over the offering.

Yet, Morgan Stanley was the lead bank behind the most successful social media in the last two years:LinkedIn (LNKD_).

In contrast to Facebook, which sold 421 million shares in the IPO, LinkedIn sold 7 million shares. Did Michael Grimes give bad advice to Facebook and good advice to LinkedIn?

Unlikely.

If Morgan Stanley wasn't the problem, who was? Facebook management, which is to say, Mark Zuckerberg

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Here's How Wrong All the Facebook Predictions Were

Facebook‘s (FB) busted IPO is so last week’s news now.  We’ve now become so used to it, everyone’s taken to slagging it on Twitter and in the blogosphere.

It’s almost like we were all in on the joke of what a botched IPO it was going to be — except that’s not true at all.

In fact, we all thought the Facebook IPO was going to be a huge hit.  We were dead wrong.

Read the full post in Forbes

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GM Pokes Facebook in the Eye -- Why?

NEW YORK (Real Money) -- Tuesday's news that General Motors(GM_) is cutting ad spending on Facebook(FB_) was a huge shock to most casual investors. The concern among Facebook skeptics is whether GM is the canary in the coalmine leading other big ad spenders follow suit.


Read the full post in TheStreet.com here

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10 Steps Yahoo! Must Take to Succeed

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- With a new board in place with Dan Loeb, and an "interim" CEO who is well-liked internally and externally in Ross Levinsohn, Yahoo!(YHOO_) seems ready to start taking a number of steps to unlock value.


The laundry list basically breaks down into two parts: internal fixes and external ones.


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Hedgies Like Yahoo!'s New Board and Interim CEO

Hedge fund ownership in Yahoo increased 4% yesterday to nearly 20%. They know there's a shareholder-friendly group in charge of the board finally.

Read the full post in Forbes

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Does Jamie Dimon's Hubris Cause Him to Gloss Over Key Operational Details?

What other things has Jamie Dimon missed over the years, besides the London Whale?  Here's an interesting anecdote from Greg Zuckerman's book The Greatest Trade Ever.

Read the full post in Forbes

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CNBC Video: Yahoo Investor: 'Shareholders Can Finally be Happy'

My appearance from CNBC's Fast Money Halftime from earlier today on the ascension of Dan Loeb and Ross Levinsohn.



[Long YHOO]

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Here's the 30 Second Zuckerberg Video That Should Terrify All Facebook Investors

Read the full post on Forbes here.

In the meantime, here's the full video, below:



[Long YHOO]

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The Boy Who's Going to Kill Facebook Is Playing Videogames in His Mom's Basement As I Write This

The one constant in the world of Web and Mobile is change. Facebook may be the "king of social" today, but there will be a new "king of mobile" shortly. Here's why.

Read the full post in Forbes

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Why Third Point is Good for Yahoo! Employees and Shareholders

Many from Silicon Valley seem to view Third Point and Dan Loeb with suspicion.  It's the opposite. He'll be the biggest ally to Yahoo! employees and shareholders in the next two years.

Read the full Forbes post

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Apple's Team Is Underestimated

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Apple(AAPL_) closed Tuesday under $570. A little earlier in the day, it touched below $550. In the days prior to its last earnings call in April, Apple shares hit a low of $555.

This recent swoon, after moving from $360 in November to an all-time high of $644, has brought out a chorus of Apple-worrywarts. They are saying this is just the start of a broader pullback. They're saying this is due to investors who are worried about carriers pulling their subsidies on future iPhones.

Any pullback in Apple shares also seems to bring out the concerns about whether the largest company by market capitalization can still keep growing.

The other day, I spoke with a good friend of mine who worried about Apple's stock that: "Steve's no longer there and their markets are brutally competitive."

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John Hayes' Facebook-Yahoo! Conflict of Interest

Amex's John Hayes serves on Yahoo!'s board but is pimping out Facebook in its new IPO Roadshow Video. He needs to pick a side.

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The Internal Situation at Yahoo! Is Spiraling Out of Control

The Scott Thompson affair is quickly spiraling out of control at Yahoo! with employees already in or about to be in open revolt. Messy or not, he must go now.

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Facebook and Google Won't Fail in 5 Years Because of Lack of Money or Low IQ - But From Sociology and Human Nature

Facebook and Google have the smartest people in the world working for them and billions in the bank - and that still might not be enough to save them from sociological forces and human nature.

Read the full post in Forbes

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MediaTwits Podcast: The Future of Google and Facebook

I was invited on The MediaTwits podcast last week by Mark Glaser and Rafat Ali to discuss my recent Forbes article on the future of Google and Facebook.

Here's the podcast.

My part starts around the 19:40 mark.

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Why a Partial Yahoo-Alibaba Sale Must - And I Underscore Must - Not Get Done Too Quickly

Scott Thompson might want to do a quick deal with Alibaba to deflect attention from his alleged mendacity, but Yahoo shareholders don't want a quick bad deal

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Yahoo CEO Under Fire

My appearance on CNBC earlier discussing Scott Thompson.

Long YHOO

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Why Facebook Investors are "Hungry Fat Pigs" and Yahoo!'s Board is a "Bunch of Jokers"

My hit from earlier today on Bloomberg TV.

[Long YHOO]

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Time's Up for Scott Thompson - and the Rest of Yahoo!'s Board

Pack your bags, Thompson and the rest of the Yahoo! board.  Watch the door on your backside on the way out.

Read the full post on Forbes

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Why I Love Yelp

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Yelp(YELP_) will report earnings tonight. It will be its first earnings call since going public.


I am long the company for several reasons:


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