Sean Ammirati

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Some of my Projects

• Innovation Happens in Pittsburgh

  

• Adjunct Professor at CMU

  

•  Open Letter to Scott Thompson - Yahoo’s New CEO

  Text

  Hi Scott,

  I want to first of all congratulate you on the new gig!  The reaction among the Internet’s thought leaders today seems cautiously optimistic.  Anyway, you clearly aren’t lacking for advice today, but I still figured I’d jump in with hopefully a unique perspective in this open letter.  

  First, we all want to see Yahoo succeed!  It’s sort of like watching Meg Whitman take over HP.  Yahoo is indeed an ‘icon’ as you said in today’s press release and I really do think most of the tech community wants to see it be a leader again.  If for no other reason, a little competition makes the tech world a better place.  

  However, I think trying to compete against Zynga & Facebook for talent is fools gold in the short-term! Instead, I’d encourage you to think about where technology is heading and start skating their right now. Personally, I’ve been saying for the last 6 - 9 months that the future of consumer technology is commerce. Given your background, it seems like you might agree and possibly that’s even why the Yahoo board selected you.   

  Here’s the big question and the point of this open letter, where has this innovation come from?  (Hint: Groupon for example was started in Palo Alto Chicago.)  As commerce becomes key, I think there is something to be said for people with more normal mortgages yet still the value of urban density understanding the decision making processes of the audiences they are designing for.   

  Therefore, with an admitted & obvious bias, I’d encourage you to think about what you can do here in Pittsburgh!  Unlike other midwestern cities, we do have Carnegie Mellon in our backyard. I’m not crazy enough to think you’ll personally move or even change the Y! HQ, but as Google has discovered, this is fertile ground for building a large regional office.  

  We all loved the idea of Yahoo Brickhouse.  Why don’t you try that again, but build it in a city like Pittsburgh?  Anyway, if you want to come to town, feel free to give me a call and I’ll be happy to introduce you to the local tech community.  

  Sincerely,  Sean 

  PS - I hope while Carol was quickly leaving, she didn’t forget to leave you three envelops.  

  Posted 4 months ago

  Pittsburgh