If Marissa asked for your advice what would you tell her? Better yet, if you were in-charge of Yahoo which direction would you take the company?

IMHO, trying to retroactively morph into a "product" company is the wrong way to go. Yahoo Mail and Flickr seem like odd properties to focus on, given the competition.

I like Jonah's advice, and the idea of doubling-down on Yahoo's news and media strengths.

Mail makes a lot of sense because it probably drives half their traffic. As for Flickr, it's still incredibly popular and a refresh was long overdue. There are reports that Yahoo is now focusing on their home page. Also makes a ton of sense since it's the Crown Jewels and also hasn't been updated in many moons.

Buy Pinterest

1. Keep doing what you're doing. I honestly have a very good feeling about Yahoo's future based on the Flickr and Yahoo Mail iOS releases. Constant, relentless improvement on existing products.

2. Position Yahoo for what's next. Develop new products that leapfrog the current offerings and create new services that are core to future 3rd party products. This is the best way to future-proof the company.

Move to NYC: medium.com (Kidding...mostly.)

I don't know exactly what the answer is, but I'm pretty sure it starts with "Do less." Reminds me of Steve Jobs' advice to Nike CEO: "Get rid of the crappy stuff." (appleinsider.com)

I have a feeling Marissa is already thinking along these lines, given her relentless focus at Google.

^ This (including move to NYC). :)