Let's argue that point. I say the Marketing effort has been misguided and not a good return on value. Do you disagree? Or are you saying the blame lies elsewhere. Would you rest it solely with higher management? I certainly wouldn't shield them from blame, but I think the Marketing arm deserves some valid criticism. I point you to this from last year: http://searchengineland.com/yahoo-should-put-ad-budget-into-...

Since I'm arguing the opposite, I will throw my argument out there. I use various Yahoo functionality in production sites, including YQL, Yahoo's Upcoming, Flickr, and though I no longer use it, I did at one time use Yahoo Pipes. Granted, I use a lot of tools, but that has what kept me coming back to Yahoo, despite the marketing pieces which have driven me nuts over the years, especially the rebranding effort for the "New Yahoo Mail". It wasn't the functionality that drove me away from using it, it was the in-your-face you must use the new Yahoo mail cause it will blow you away marketing that pushed me off. As for the amount spent on marketing and its return value, I obvioulsy dont have Yahoo's financials, but if someone does and wants to discuss that would be great.