Yang’s (Lowercased) Words to Yahoo Workers

Yesterday, we got a peek at how Ballmer was keeping the Microsoft troops calm in the midst of the Microsoft-Yahoo negotiations. In a leaked email, Microsoft’s CEO lays out the rationale for the bid, gives credit to the work Microsoft employees have already done in the space and even promises a soft landing for incoming Yahoos.

So the natural next question was, what did Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang say to keep his employees in the loop?

Yang had been relatively quiet since Microsoft made their Feb. 1 bid–his critics call it his “cave”–but in an email leaked to Silicon Alley Insider, sends a pretty smart and timely message to employees. In it, he gives assurance that they have brought in advisors, will do whatever is best for the company and gives credit to the talented workforce for making the company what it is.

“the microsoft interest highlights the tremendous strength of the yahoo! brand and assets: our half billion users around the world, our leading products and services, our open ad network, our technology, and most of all, our amazingly talented people,” writes Yang.

Oddly, Yang chooses not to use capitalization in his communication, something which has apparently always been his way. As I writer, I cringe at someone of his stature not using the accepted form of English, and would think he’d be concerned that it would make him look unprofessional, but according to others, that is exactly the point. He’s just a regular guy, a scrappy underdog, some believe this conveys; he really “cares” about the Internet.

Do you agree?