10.07.10
Microsoft Entryism Continues at Yahoo! as More Microsoft Managers Occupy the Shaken Ship
Summary: More staff migrations are reported to have resulted in managers from Microsoft taking charge inside Yahoo! and Nokia is revisited as entryism candidate in its earlier phases
ENTRYISM becomes a strong tool for Microsoft to change the landscape of IT, especially now that so many Microsoft executives are leaving. One reader of ours, gnufreex, has asked for an article explaining what entryism is about and how it works. The Wikipedia article is broad and it focuses on entryism in the context of politics (Slated brought this analogy to wider public attention). Today we’ll give a quick update on Microsoft entryism and there is a lot more in our IRC channels (for those who are patient enough to open the logs and read them all).
“After talking [to] few ex and present Microsofties,” explained gnufreex, “I got to conclusion that those people are religious followers and they don’t know other company than Microsoft. That is their good. Wherever they go, they will still be working for Microsoft. There are two types of ex-Microsofties: One will stay faithful to the company and work for Microsoft cause when they move to another company. Other group will be professional and work for new company (not for Microsoft) but they will shape new company after proprietary principles they have been thought at Microsoft. So *any* company that contain ex-Microsofties in management, will be hostile to free software. They are like a plague. [...] There have been some rare exceptions. Some ex-Microsofties are completely sick of the ideas of MS. There have been guys that worked for Microsoft for 6 months and quit due to having to much common sense to accept their crap. One example, creator of CoyotOS and BitC. Shapiro. He have been hired away from CoyotOS when Hurd guys wanted to port Hurd servers to CoyotOS.”
“Wherever they go, they will still be working for Microsoft.”
–gnufreexAs a timely example, we have documented quite thoroughly how Yahoo! got hijacked by Microsoft from the inside. That’s an excellent example of entryism, involving no less than several dozens of Microsoft managers entering a company that once rejected Microsoft and aggressively defended itself from Microsoft. Nowadays, after many Microsoft seniors managed to occupy key positions at Yahoo!, hostility towards Google at Yahoo! is greater and it is working out pretty well for Microsoft. “Microsoft Joins Yahoo In Criticizing Google Instant,” says this new headline and it’s not the first time we see such things. Yahoo dives into anti-Google agenda like Microsoft's marionette and Yahoo! may have patents too — ones that it can use to attack Google shall the former Microsoft managers who occupy Yahoo’s corpus callosum choose to do so (this possibility was covered before on several occasions).
As a reminder, Yahoo! and Google were almost allies before AstroTurfing (LawMedia) from Microsoft. Watch what Google’s CEO has to say about the antitrust claims which came through Microsoft allies recently:
Google boss Eric Schmidt has said that antitrust investigations targeting the company in the EU and Texas are “stimulated” by interested competitors and that — contrary to one of the complaints filed in the EU — the company’s “Universal Search” setup does not unfairly drive traffic to Google services at the expense of rivals.
The article addresses those accusations from Texas — accusations which Schmidt now attributes to competitors rather than just Microsoft as Google previously alleged [1, 2, 3] (those competitors are Microsoft partners for the most part).
Going back to Yahoo!, the company suffered a major exodus recently (Microsoft did too) and Yahoo! kept the press out of it. People who are not so muchly needed in Microsoft as much as they are needed for capturing a rival without acquiring it are entering Yahoo! again. More entryism in Yahoo? The Register says “Bing! man! drops! Microsoft! for! Yahoo! job!”
Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet reported Bradford’s departure, but Yahoo! hasn’t confirmed his job title yet. It’s not clear when he’ll be leaving Microsoft either.
[...]
Windows Live exec Blake Irving, Microsoft global ad sales man Bill Shaughnessy and John Metheny of Kin fame have all rocked up at Yahoo!’s Sunnyvale offices of late.
Here is what we wrote about Microsoft managers inside Yahoo! allegedly planning to bring more former colleagues from Microsoft as the company continues to sink [1, 2].
Yahoo! boss Carol Bartz confirmed that the company’s US head and two other execs were leaving the web outfit yesterday.
Hilary Schneider’s departure along with the resignations of media veep Jimmy Pitaro and audience wonk David Ko were announced by Bartz to all Yahoo!
This whole culture of entryism worries us greatly because the quicker Microsoft falls, the more Microsoft residue (of managers, not mere engineers) will spread to other companies.
“Examples of companies MS has bought a small share of (less than the 5% to report) but use to influence the board of said companies, is Netflix, Best Buy. Blockbuster had Carl Icahn the corporate raider to the same thing with that he did to Yahoo, most likely on M$ behalf,” Chips B. Malroy alleged. “Once that influence has worked and they get their people in, then MS can sell the stock,” he added.
The other day we wrote about what was happening in Nokia following the appointment of a Microsoft president (now Nokia's CEO). Not only did its key “Linux guy” (VP of Nokia’s MeeGo unit) resign but he also allegedly said “Me go now!” Yes, Ari Jaaksi resigned his position and he has not exactly given explanations to the press (it is a low-key departure). He only got “quoted as saying by Ilta-Sanomat that his departure was not linked to the naming of Stephen Elop as Nokia’s new managing director last month,” said one site. MeeGo is better than Android is many ways and Nokia’s lack of commitment will also harm Intel’s Linux plans. █
“A stacked panel, on the other hand, is like a stacked deck: it is packed with people who, on the face of things, should be neutral, but who are in fact strong supporters of our technology.”
–Microsoft, internal document [PDF]
satipera said,
October 7, 2010 at 3:25 pm
I am pretty sure that companies, seek to find out what is going on in other companies that they deem important to their prospects and even try to influence their policies. I am also pretty sure that when people move from one company to another they do not cut themselves of from social and professional networks.
There may well have been cases where MS have infiltrated and taken over a company. But what I can’t accept is that every time a Microsofty moves to another company that they are on a mission for MS. It makes us free software supporters look paranoid. Nokia for instance are not just going to invite someone in to turn them into a subsidiary of MS, they have a lot more nouse than that.
Each case should be examined on its merits with the actions of the person or persons concerned presented as evidence. A company does not need to have been taken over by MS to collude with them and there are examples of later divergent interests causing friction.
Yes lets keep a very close eye on this less than ethical and law abiding company but sounding an alarm too frequently causes it to be ignored.
I am more concerned about what present MS employees are doing to influence politicians and industry and standards organisations.
Dr. Roy Schestowitz Reply:
October 7th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
I was not suggesting a takeover at all. What I suspect, however, is that Nokia is likely to explore Windows now (there are rumours that it does). The connections and preferences do not expire overnight.
twitter Reply:
October 7th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
Given Microsoft’s deeply criminal culture and the things Nokia looks after, it is right to be alarmed. The list of tech and companies torpedoed by Microsoft moles is long and terrible. Nokia is in charge of QT, something Microsoft would love to ruin, and has been the worlds largest producer of cellphones. If Nokia does not put their extensive free software efforts to work in the mobile phone market, we will know why. Efforts to wreck QT will fail, but the FUD factor will do Microsoft a lot of good. It is good for Roy to document the connection and early indicators. That’s not paranoia, it’s using your memory and being prepared rather than surrenderting to wishful thinking and being blindsided.