What hiring Marissa Mayer immediately does for Yahoo

Good luck, Marissa.

(Credit: Dan Farber/CNET)

Yahoo has pulled off an incredible coup. Forget Carol Bartz, Scott Thompson, and Ross Levinsohn -- Marissa Mayer is Yahoo's new CEO.

I can't stress how much of a coup this is for Yahoo. Mayer, Google's 20th employee and first female employee, was one of the search giant's most recognizable faces. She ran product for Google's search engine for years before being relegated to Google's local products. It was clear her influence in the company had waned, which may be why it wasn't a hard decision for her to leave the comfortable world of Google.

Mayer's arrival at the struggling tech giant will have an immediate impact on Yahoo. Here are just a few of the things she does for the company:

• Mayer brings Yahoo new credibility in technology. Yahoo has struggled with its identity as a hybrid media/technology company for years. Terry Semel's reign pushed Yahoo into the media realm, while Carol Bartz and Scott Thompson were indications that Yahoo wanted to go back to its technology roots. Choosing Mayer over Levinsohn makes it crystal clear that Yahoo intends to make products that compete with those from the heavy hitters.


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