Biz Break: Yahoo cuts 600 jobs; plus: From LinkedIn, password, buzzword advice

Oakland Tribune December 14, 2010 | Frank Michael Russell Today: Yahoo cuts 600 jobs. Plus: Best Buy, Google. And: LinkedIn has some advice: You can’t have too many passwords, but you can use too many buzzwords. this web site google voice app

Job cuts at Yahoo The Sunnyvale Internet company today laid off 600 employees today, or about 4 percent of its work force, according to an Associated Press report.

This is the third round of layoffs at Yahoo since Carol Bartz joined the company as CEO. According to AP, most of the job cuts had been expected in Yahoo’s products group.

“Yahoo is grateful for the important contributions made by the employees affected by this reduction,” the company’s statement said. “We are offering severance packages and outplacement services to these employees.” The job cuts weren’t a surprise as they were initially reported a few weeks ago by blogs including AllThingsD and TechCrunch. However, we know that layoffs like this are difficult for everyone involved.

In a weird (and grim) development in our constantly on social media era, it’s possible now to follow along in real time as a company such as Yahoo cuts jobs.

TechCrunch and Silicon Alley Insider, for example, have been posting Twitter posts from employees as they or their co-workers are laid off. “Incredibly frustrating to see passionate, talented people leaving a team that needs them,” one Twitter post quoted on Silicon Alley Insider reads. “There will be some lucky companies hiring soon.” That might be true. (And this is good news, especially for those with engineering skills.) A number of employers (young tech upstarts, in particular) are posting job openings on Quora and other sites.

Yahoo stock, by the way, finished regular trading today at $16.63, down 7 cents, or 0.4 percent, from yesterday’s closing price.

Tech headlines Best Buy: The big consumer electronics retailer’s stock plunged $6.18, or 14.8 percent, from yesterday’s closing price to finish regular trading today at $35.52.

Earlier today, Best Buy reported disappointing earnings and downgraded its outlook for the current quarter, blaming weaker-than- expected sales of brand-name televisions and laptop computers. go to site google voice app

“We’re on the downslope on the flat-panel TV product life cycle,” Morningstar analyst R.J. Hottovy said, according to an AP report. “Portable electronics are driving sales of consumer electronics right now.” Google: The Mountain View Internet juggernaut has updated its Google Voice app for Apple’s iPhone to also include support for the iPad and iPod touch.

According to a blog post today, the new app will allow iPad and iPod touch owners to send and receive free text messages or check voice mail from their Google Voice account. Conspicuously absent, though, is the ability to make calls over Wi-Fi Internet connections.

“While you can’t use your iPod or iPad as a phone, you can use it to initiate Google Voice calls with your phones,” product manager Marcus Foster wrote on the post.

Advice from LinkedIn LinkedIn — the Mountain View professional networking upstart — has some advice today: Don’t use the same password on every website. And don’t overuse resume buzzwords.

Passwords: In a blog post today, LinkedIn principal product manager Vicente Silveria explained that his company is requiring many members to reset their passwords after the security breach over the weekend involving Gawker Media sites (which include tech blog Gizmodo).

“As we closely monitored the situation, we decided it was imperative to take pre-emptive action to help ensure that those leaked passwords were not being used to attack any LinkedIn members,” Silveria wrote.

“Even if you weren’t affected, it is a good reminder to proactively manage your online accounts,” he noted. “The No. 1 tip is to use a unique password for each site.” Buzzwords: Earlier today, LinkedIn listed what it described as the “top 10 overused buzzwords” in its members’ profiles.

“We have the unique ability to uncover interesting workplace trends in our data given the high volume of people with profiles on LinkedIn,” chief data scientist DJ Patil said, according to a news release. “In this case, we wanted to reveal insights that help professionals make better choices about how to position themselves online.” Among members in the U.S., the most overused buzzwords according to LinkedIn were:

1. Extensive experience 2. Innovative 3. Motivated 4. Results-oriented 5. Dynamic 6. Proven track record 7. Team player 8. Fast-paced 9. Problem solver 10. Entrepreneurial “Phrases like ‘extensive experience’ and ‘proven track record’ can appear empty to a potential employer and may do more harm than good,” career consultant Lindsey Pollack wrote, according to LinkedIn’s news release.

Instead, she advised, use “meaningful phrases that apply specifically to highlights you’ve achieved in your career.” Silicon Valley tech stocks Up: Google, Oracle, eBay, Gilead Sciences.

Down: Apple, Intel, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, VMware, Yahoo.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index: Up 2.81, or 0.1 percent, to 2,627.72.

The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average: Up 47.98, or 0.4 percent, to 11,476.54.

And the widely watched Standard & Poor’s 500 index: Up 1.13, or 0.1 percent, to 1,241.59.

Check in weekday afternoons for the 60-Second Business Break, a summary of news from Mercury News staff writers, The Associated Press, Bloomberg News and other wire services. Contact Frank Russell at 408-920-5876. Follow him at Twitter.com/mercspike.

Frank Michael Russell