????但與此同時(shí)，雅虎仍應(yīng)繼續(xù)保持阿里巴巴和雅虎日本的部分交叉所有權(quán)，以鞏固在中國(guó)和日本來(lái)之不易的長(zhǎng)期關(guān)系，這也有助于雅虎在亞洲最大的兩個(gè)網(wǎng)絡(luò)市場(chǎng)上立足。

????雖說(shuō)第三點(diǎn)基金提出的“九大要點(diǎn)”比較模糊，但是雅虎的亞洲資產(chǎn)一旦變現(xiàn)，第三點(diǎn)基金如果不馬上堅(jiān)持把至少其中的大部分用來(lái)給股東分紅，那它就不叫“維權(quán)投資者”了。不過(guò)也就是在這個(gè)問(wèn)題上，因循守舊的雅虎董事會(huì)其實(shí)有一個(gè)可以“硬起來(lái)”的機(jī)會(huì)——把這筆錢(qián)中的大部分用于重建雅虎，而不是放進(jìn)股東的口袋。

????在雅虎帝國(guó)之中，仍有幾處閃耀著這個(gè)老品牌過(guò)去的光輝，比如人們最常提到的雅虎體育、新聞和金融。近年來(lái)這些領(lǐng)域也涌現(xiàn)出不少創(chuàng)新的應(yīng)用程序和網(wǎng)站。比如時(shí)下正熱的科技博客The Verge的母公司Vox Media，以及擁有321個(gè)體育博客的SB Nation，他們都是值得收購(gòu)的公司，雖然不免要花一大筆錢(qián)，但是一定對(duì)得起那個(gè)價(jià)格。另外像Flipboard和基于Twitter的News.me這樣的應(yīng)用服務(wù)也可以讓雅虎在方興未艾的網(wǎng)絡(luò)新聞遞送領(lǐng)域穩(wěn)據(jù)一席之地。

????如果雅虎愿意打開(kāi)它即將有望變得鼓鼓囊囊的腰包，那么還有其它一些領(lǐng)域也是可以進(jìn)軍的。比如它可以從IAC/Interactive公司那里收購(gòu)YouTube的小兄弟Vimeo，這也是個(gè)很有前途和才華的視頻網(wǎng)站。如果有人肯為Vimeo出筆大價(jià)錢(qián)，IAC的老板巴里?迪勒肯定樂(lè)于促成交易。另外自從2010年起從母公司RealNetworks獨(dú)立出來(lái)的流媒體音樂(lè)網(wǎng)站Rhapsody也可能是雅虎音樂(lè)一直夢(mèng)寐以求的那種音樂(lè)服務(wù)。

????最后，在雅虎的“窒息文化”里其實(shí)也隱藏著一些寶貴的資產(chǎn)。例如照片分享網(wǎng)站Flickr就是雅虎的一次明智的收購(gòu)。雖然雅虎的本意是任其自行發(fā)展，但Flickr還是被扼殺在了雅虎的官僚主義泡沫里。為什么雅虎沒(méi)有圍繞著Flickr建立自己的社交戰(zhàn)略，而是非要把它囫圇吞進(jìn)雅虎自己愚蠢的社交藍(lán)圖里呢？為什么雅虎從來(lái)沒(méi)把Flickr變成一款移動(dòng)應(yīng)用，讓它具有像Instagram那樣的潛力呢？

????啊，對(duì)了，我們是在討論雅虎未來(lái)的前途，而不是聲討它過(guò)去的失誤。如果雅虎打算通過(guò)購(gòu)買(mǎi)創(chuàng)新公司來(lái)構(gòu)建公司的前途，那么它就應(yīng)該讓那些創(chuàng)新公司的點(diǎn)子引領(lǐng)著公司前行，而不是把它們吞進(jìn)一個(gè)行將就木、僵化可笑，卻仍然相信自己無(wú)所不知的企業(yè)文化中。如果說(shuō)過(guò)去的教訓(xùn)告訴了我們什么，那就是雅虎根本不知道什么才是對(duì)自己最好的。Facebook花大價(jià)錢(qián)收購(gòu)了Instagram，為的是學(xué)習(xí)和認(rèn)識(shí)Instagram對(duì)移動(dòng)應(yīng)用的了解，而不是要吸干它的血。

????最后，如果雅虎繼續(xù)放任自己墮落到“專(zhuān)利流氓”的水平，那么雅虎將永無(wú)復(fù)蘇之日。因?yàn)檫@會(huì)讓對(duì)其未來(lái)成功至關(guān)重要的工程師和獨(dú)立開(kāi)發(fā)者敬而遠(yuǎn)之。在網(wǎng)絡(luò)世界上，讓一個(gè)品牌蒙羞最快的方法，莫過(guò)于你有一個(gè)好點(diǎn)子，但不知道拿它怎么辦，結(jié)果別的公司利用這個(gè)點(diǎn)子賺了錢(qián)，而你就氣急敗壞地去起訴它。所以不要起訴他們，而是應(yīng)該與它們合作，向它們學(xué)習(xí)。

????這就是我眼中的雅虎復(fù)興之路：一、賣(mài)掉亞洲資產(chǎn)；二、不要把錢(qián)分給股東，而是精明地用于投資那些天才的初創(chuàng)公司；三、向那些初創(chuàng)公司學(xué)習(xí)如何在2012年的網(wǎng)絡(luò)世界上茁壯成長(zhǎng)；四、把專(zhuān)利當(dāng)成防御武器，而不是進(jìn)攻武器。

????如果雅虎可以做到這幾點(diǎn)，那么它也只是有了一個(gè)背水一戰(zhàn)的機(jī)會(huì)而已——但也許這是雅虎五年來(lái)最好的機(jī)會(huì)了。如果它做不到，那它最好現(xiàn)在就把過(guò)去18年賺來(lái)的每一筆資產(chǎn)進(jìn)行破產(chǎn)清算，然后把錢(qián)還給投資人算了。雅虎，究竟怎樣做，就看你的了。

????譯者：樸成奎

????But Yahoo should also use whatever leverage it has to insist on some cross-ownership of shares in both Alibaba and Yahoo Japan, cementing already long-standing relationships that could help it establish a presence in two of Asia's largest web markets.

????Third Point's vague bullet points notwithstanding, the firm wouldn't be worthy of being called an activist investor if it didn't immediately insist on returning much, if not all, of that lucre into a shareholder payout. But here's where Yahoo's old-school board has a chance to develop a spine: Put most of that money not into shareholder pockets, but into rebuilding Yahoo.

????Several pieces of Yahoo's empire still emit some of the shine of its old brand -- sports, news and finance are ones most frequently mentioned. And there have emerged a number of apps and sites that are innovating in these areas. Vox Media, owner of rising-star The Verge and the 321 sports blogs on SB Nation, could be a big expense well worth the price. Apps like Flipboard and Twitter-based services like News.me would give Yahoo a strong foothold in the emerging world of news delivery.

????There are other neighborhoods of the web that Yahoo could buy its way into if it would only open up its (potentially) fat wallet. Vimeo, for years YouTube's potentially talented little brother, could be snatched from IAC/Interactive (IACI) After all, Barry Diller loves nothing more than being involved in a good deal. A music-streaming service like Rhapsody, independent from its long-time parent RealNetworks (RNWK) since 2010, could be the music service Yahoo Music always wanted to be.

????Finally, there are valuable assets hidden inside Yahoo's culture of suffocation. Flickr was once a brilliant acquisition that, despite Yahoo's intention to leave it to its own devices, was smothered in bureaucratic styrofoam. Why didn't Yahoo build its social strategy around Flickr, instead of swallowing it into its own ham-fisted social vision? And why did Yahoo never turn Flickr into an app with Instagram-like potential?

????Ah well, we're here to look at Yahoo's potential future, not its past missteps. If Yahoo is going to buy up innovative startups to build its future on, it will have to let their ideas guide the company forward -- and not engulf them into a dying and stultifying culture that still believes it knows best. Because if anything is clear now, it's that Yahoo doesn't know what is best for itself. Facebook paid a steep price for Instagram to learn -- and follow -- what Instagram knew about the mobile web, not to suck its blood dry.

????Finally, Yahoo's recovery is over if it keeps stooping to the vile level of the patent troll. It will drive away the engineers and independent developers vital to its future success. On the web, nothing taints a brand faster than suing a company that is smart enough to capitalize on ideas you had but didn't know what to do with. Don't sue them, work with them to learn from them.

????So there's the road to a Yahoo recovery, as I see it: Sell the Asian assets; don't give the cash to shareholders but invest it, shrewdly, in smart startups; learn from those startups how to thrive on the web in 2012; and use patents as a defense, not an offense.

????If Yahoo can do that, it only has a fighting chance - but perhaps its best fighting chance in five years. If it can't do that, then it's better off liquidating everything it's built for the past 18 years and handing the cash over to shareholders. It's your call, Yahoo.