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Day 64: SCANDAL! Yahoo Exec Questions BoomTown Accounting of Vision Quest!

I know I am annoying the heck out of Yahoo bigwigs with my obsessive countdown of CEO Jerry Yang’s 100-day promise to examine Yahoo from top to bottom, which I previously officially dubbed “No-Sacred-Cow Vision Quest.”

counting

But one exec, who shall remain nameless (you know who you are!), questioned my accounting of it. Specifically, he asserted that my day count is way off, so I immediately began an investigation into my back-dating practices.

And I am exonerated! Here’s why:

herdofcows

I peg the start of Vision Quest to when Yang made his 100-day declaration and also said there were “no sacred cows” at the company. Actually, there are apparently a rather large herd of them mooing away, but that’s a post for another day.

Nonetheless, this declaration took place on July 17 in Yahoo’s second-quarter earnings conference call.

Given he had just uttered the line, I decided to start the clock the next day on July 18, so Yang could get a good night’s rest to allow him to see Yahoo with fresh-as-a-daisy eyes.

In addition, because I know time is precious, I included all weekend days and holidays (no rest for the desperate!) too. I started my own countdown on Day 37, in this post.

So, as I see it, my finger-pointing Yahoo exec has falsely accused me. It is now Day 64 and we are almost two-thirds through the process.

And, as I have also promised, depending on news out of Yahoo, we’re sticking with Yang until the end, which by my calculations will fall on Oct. 25.

Note to Yang: Only 36 shopping days left!

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  • Keep the pressure on! Don't let Yang off the hook. You can't have execs making grandiose statements like his without expecting some scrutiny!
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About Kara

Kara Swisher started covering digital issues for The Wall Street Journal's San Francisco bureau in 1997 and also wrote the BoomTown column about the sector. With Walt Mossberg, she co-produces and co-hosts D: All Things Digital, a major high-tech and media conference. Read more »

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Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.

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