Penelope, so sorry to hear this! Their reason isn’t a reflection on you, which is a sort of nice rarity when one is getting fired, not that that helps the bottom line any. You’re such an excellent writer, able to make pretty much any topic you take on interesting and compelling and provocative, and I have to think this is just going to lead you somewhere better…

You see! This is what happens when you badmouth Christmas!

Sorry to hear this. Make sure you capitalize on all the readers who followed you at Yahoo. In some ways, Yahoo really gave you the audience. Now make sure we don’t lose interest.

I fire yahoo.

Dear Penelope,
Thank you for writing your Yahoo column, I enjoyed reading some of your thoughts. As a career oriented person myself I know that there are up and down days. I especially enjoyed reading your columns when I;m having a career setback. Hopefully this is only a minor glitch in a successful career.

I have enjoyed reading your blog and am looking forward to seeing what exciting new changes lie ahead for you after this turn of events. Best wishes for the new year!

I have been a recent, but persistent reader and admire your worldview. Moreover, I recently finished a book (Jump Point: How Network Culture is Revolutionizing Business, McGraw-Hill, January 2008) and have been modeling my next steps after your experiences. Let’s keep in touch. I am sure many great adventures lie just ahead.

Tom

I have to say I am an avid reader of your blog, I do consumer research for Gen-Y for a fortune 500 consumer products company and therefore know enough to know you are typically right on… I do read your columns on Yahoo! finance because the comments are funny (baby boomers) and they don’t seem to be able to grasp the world we live in now (I’m a Gen-X’er BTW). Still, I have often asked myslef if you columns are lost on the typical yahoo! audience why would they post them, while it is the best thing they could do to wake up their readers, it probably doesn’t work out that way (BTW I also like Kiyosaki on Yahoo! finance).

If yahoo! knows their audience is boomer-heavy, why does yahoo mail insist everyone have an avatar, I don’t want an avatar! And I am sure everyone older than me feels the same way!

I wish you the best, hope you keep blogging as I have told many people at work to read your blog, it is a great window into the new corporate world whether people like it or not.

PS - I miss business 2.0

* * * * * * *

Hi, Tom. Thanks for the comment. The part about the avatars makes me laugh.

–Penelope

I’m an avid reader of all things Penelope. It’s something akin to watching horror movies. Your views are exciting but, also, quite scary. It’s a pity Yahoo let you go, especially, during the Christmas season! Tactless…

So thank you for the articles. I’m quite sure you’ll get a better deal from your next ‘employer’. Happy New Year!

Penelope, (This is the comment I left at Yahoo!Finacial.)

I am more ashamed of the comments coming from the peanut gallery at Yahoo!Financial than anything I read from your pen. You’ll find your audience, I’m sure of it. I gave up corporate life because of these hacks — who the hell wants to sit next to these miserable wonks eight hours a day picking everything and everyone apart. Instead I honestly believe that starting and growing a business is a far more honorable pursuit than kissing tail in the corporate sewers. I have more respect for you and your creative drive than anyone middle manager for a fortune 500 corporation. Those commenting on your articles had little regard for the need to develop interpersonal relationships and therefore didn’t get most of what you were saying. Plus most of those commenting were men — and in all my corporate IT years, women still face opprobrious prejudices and ridicule from men. Good Luck.

God if I had a dollar for every time this happened to me I would be set. Stick to your guns, I read you every day and for the first time in my life I know another person whom marches to the same drum. Everything always works out for the best, one door closes and another one opens. All the best to you; I know it is my turn in early January 2008 - and I hope that I can face it with the dignity you have.

Always listen to your gut, it never lies.

David.

I’ve only started reading your blog recently Penelope but can easily see you’ve the talent and the attitude to make this Yahoo thing an opportunity, not a setback. I had a career blip in mid-2007 but after the initial shock set about making the most of my situation. Now I’m doing what I love (;) and am finally writing for myself. Next is that book on procrastination I’ve been meaning to write for a while. Just watch… 2008 will be a great year for you.
Phil

Dear Penelope,

I am sorry to hear about this. As I read your comments I tried to think if there is a reason that editor said you should write for Lifestyles, or something more women-oriented. The only reason I can come up with is that your are usually writing about RELATIONSHIPS–business relationships, boss-employee relationships, co-worker relationships, husband-wife relationships, etc. Maybe this is where his comment came from. That being said, this is what makes your columns so interesting.

It does appear, however, that you have an equal number of men reading. But perhaps this editor’s thought is that more women are reading than men?

Good luck to you,
Mary in Marrakesh

Penelope, not to worry, as Yahoo! did help you build your brand, gain readership and an audience. Although the audience was aggressive and sometimes quite harsh, the right one’s I’m sure pulled through.

Let me know if you need anything and merry christmas.

Change is a good thing!

Hang in there, I am sure with all your family responsibilities this must be tough.

Thanks for being gutsy enough to write about this stuff. If there is anything I can do to help with brainstorming etc, please reach out directly. Best, JB.

Hi,

This sucks and I hope you know that I really get it because I’ve been there and I’m the breadwinner. When it did happen I hated pretty much everything anyone said to me, it all seemed pointless. But I ended up doing something very different, something I liked more. This didn’t remove the stress or the fact that we lost money. But as cheesy as it sounds, there WAS a reason why it happened and I think there IS a reason why this will be good.

I am not an optimist — I don’t like hopeful thinking. This comes from what I think is reality - they helped you build up your audience but there wasn’t a great fit and now you don’t need them. Yes, you need them for the money, but you’ll find it elsewhere. You don’t need them for reach and I always thought that was the key value they delivered.

Hang in there.

Penelope, your writing is brave and prescient and terrifying to the (still, mostly) male establishment. When you have the temerity to point out a fact that young twenty-somethings “at the top of their games” can no longer be controlled and manipulated by age-old corporate head games they know there’s a sea-change headed for their
dark walnut paneled/overstuffed mahogany leathered/cigar infested corporate suites.

The knee-jerk reaction they just handed you speaks poorly for that bullshit “hail-fellow-well-me” camaraderie they reserve for their own brethren. You keep on goin’ girl. Yours is a voice we can ill afford to do without.

Maureen

Penelope, that sucks. I’m sorry to hear about Yahoo.

And I ‘feel’ you about worrying that you are “at risk” all the time. But, I think that it makes life just a little more exciting. And, rest assured that life will provide you with the opportunities you need, often when you least expect it. ;)

I agree with Maureen.

I mean — “You should write for Lifestyles. That is more women oriented.”? Holy shit.

That reminds me of the “Stanley, of course” line from Season One episode of The Office. (The boss’s first pick for the basketball team is the one black guy in the office, who turns out to be a horrible athlete.)

I guess, until you adopt a male pseudonym, you’ll always be pigeonholed as a female career columnist instead of just a career columnist.

Ah well, one thing’s for sure: in a world oversaturated with punditry, your column was original enough to elicit passionate opinions.

Mazel tov on the first day of this new chapter in your life. I know there is great stuff in store for you.

I am sorry to hear this, but I am a true believer in EVERYTHING happens for a reason. I feel you will more than land on your feet.

Please ignore that person’s insensitive Christmas comment, it is 100% inappropriate!!!

it seems that your boss’s boss’s boss is such a male chauvinist. “More women oriented”? Just because you’re a woman so your writing is only relevant for women, is that what he’s thinking? He’s soooo from the dark ages. I have fired yahoo.com long time ago, therefore i am sure you’ll be doing fine without yahoo.

Thanks for sharing this with us and again, being real about what’s going on in your life.

It sucks to be blindsided (been there with a job here in Madison) but sounds like you’ve got the right thinking of how to use this as a learning experience and move on.

Though the excuse for firing seems valid, the comment about writing for a ‘more woman oriented’ column kinda ticks me off. If you wrote for a more woman oriented column, that would mean less male readers, which in turn would mean less male comments, which I enjoy reading and learn quite a bit from their point of view.

You seem to have a great attitude about this. Hope it hasn’t been too bad. Learn, move on and make something greater, like your start-up! Maybe HotJobs will pan out, though sounds like it could be something porn related (I do know what HotJobs is, by the way!)

Damn P…Sorry to hear that. I really enjoyed Thursday mornings when I could read your column on Yahoo. You have a talent for making people think about what they are reading…not all of it makes sense to everyone but it does shine a light in a different direction of thought. Looking forward to the next spot your article turns up!

You know, this will probably end up being the best thing to ever happen to you. On Y Finance, you selling ice cream to eskimoes - a useful product that the particular audience didn’t want and obviously had a good deal of disdain for.

Take it as a badge of honor and move on! Bigger and better things are ahead of you.

Penelope:

Been there, done that. And since I was fired I’ve ended up better off and better paid. You have a lot of talent and I love reading your blog, so keep on keeping on! I think you’ll do just fine.

Scott

Sorry to hear the news.

“More women oriented”? Someone actually said that to you? Wow.

LMAO about the avatars above.

And Yahoo wonders why they continuously lose ground to the likes of Google…frankly, your column was one of the best on Y! Finance, but I’ll continue to check out your blog. And, as a young professional in his early 20s, I find it somewhat offensive that management would suggest your write for a women’s magazine. That’s just ridiculous; your articles are terrific for anyone who has a career, not just women. Good luck in your future endeavors.

What I don’t understand is why the readers of Yahoo Finance were so abusive towards you in the comments, the anonymity of the internet makes it easy for people to say hurtful things.

Penelope,

More condolences. Although it doesn’t help you, you’re right. That is a really interesting reason for firing you.

Your thoughts on the dichotomy of freelance work are important and I hope a lot of people pay attention to them. I’m spending a lot of time trying to brand myself and work my way to the place where I can take that freedom. Having friends who freelance and face these challenges helps, it lets me see what I’m in for.

I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors, and anticipate catching your columns wherever else they may appear.

(On a side note, Yahoo! is evil, has always been evil, and I was always annoyed to have to give patronage to the devil to read your columns anyway. A previous commenter has a good point. Yahoo!’s clientele seems to be primarily boomers, they don’t seem very good at taking their audience into account.)

Well, having found your blog via Yahoo!, I’m sorry to see you go. I WON’T be sorry to stop seeing all those negative, mean-spirited comments, though. HotJobs (or Monster, CareerBuilder, etc) would be a logical choice, so I’m sure something will happen.

I don’t always agree with you, but I enjoy reading. Someone’s got to stir the pot, right? Sorry to hear you’ve lost your main source of income.

Thanks for the honesty. As a young woman trying to put lifestyle first, it is truly appreciated.

Have enjoyed reading your column. Will try to keep up through the blog.

Have you thought about writing for Forbes?

Although I am sorry to see you were fired, many of your comments and advice were way off base. I am more sorry for all the folks who took your misguided advice and acted on it. You may be an OK person, but you are a terrible advice giver. Good luck on your new career.

Unlike your other readers, I’m not sorry for you, though I am going to miss the Thursday mornings at Yahoo Finance. But things happen for a reason, and there’s no sense in feeling sorry for ourselves when they do. Yahoo wasn’t the place for you, and your posts here on your own blog are MUCH better. Good luck with future endeavors, and I’ll just change the bookmark to redirect here.

Penelope,

While I didn’t always agree with your advise, I still felt that your articles brought a new angle to the table which either caused me to strengthen my own beliefs or change them to fit a wider mold. For that reason alone (of course there were other reasons too!), your column was greatly worth reading. I’m sorry to hear about you getting fired but we’ve all been there and you’ll do just fine.

Might I suggest talking to the people over at Google? You’ll have a guranteed following from the fans of your writing style and all of those angry people that always post comments on your articles. Seeing as how Yahoo Finance is still top dog, I’d be willing to bet that Google would view taking you on as a way to increase their market share.

Best of luck,

David Cox

I’m a new reader to your blog and the previous posts in your archieve. Damm it sucks to be let go from any job.

All I can say is sometimes you have to make lemonade from lemons and I have this feeling you will be OK. Have a good one.

BB

Sorry to hear that. I’m sure you’ll bounce back.

I think this goes to show the wisdom of your advice to cultivate a braided career and avoid putting all your eggs in one basket.

I have truly enjoyed your columns to the point where I pass them along to my 16 and 17 year old of how to cope with the working world.

I’ve gone the corporate route for 25 years and been through what you’re going through. Yahoo is making yet another mistake.

If all I wanted to read was finance, there are other sites I could go to. Keep up the great work, you are influencing people much more beyond the column. Kids will outlive all of us regardless of whatever the current CPM is.

I hope your supervisors continue to read your columns. They are going to need your advice just like the now former supervisors at AOL, MCI and Enron do. Castles made of sand fall in the eventually.

Penelope,

Honestly, you will be missed. A few of my coworkers and I had good fun with several of your articles.

Just an FYI, the line from wikipedia “one of the most traficked sections of Yahoo Finance, although most of her comments are negative” was written by yours truly, and there is no scientific basis or web traffic report I can cite to.

Good luck on your future endeavors,

Jesse

If nothing else - you have proven that you are a survivor. I have read your blogs for years and will continue to do so.
I am frankly relieved to see you off the Yahoo site. Those comments were rarely useful, insightful or meaningful. I can’t believe that they didn’t somehow affect you. I wished that you could have written that column without getting all of the immature feedback. If you were so bad, whay did all of those idiots keep reading you?
You are an outstanding source of information for me and I have come to know you as a psuedo career counselor / mentor.
I don’t always agree with your posts, however they all make me think, form my own opinions and most importantly - examine my own life and career. I am waiting for the future post when you can look back at this and see that this was a blessing.
Keep up the frank and honest advice.

Hi Penelope,

I’m sorry to hear about this financial hit you’re taking right now with the loss of the column. I am grateful that I found this blog through Yahoo, though and know you’ll keep growing.

I will miss the comments at Yahoo, most of them were dead on.

Having been in the online advertising business, the reason the folks at Yahoo gave does ring true. Intuitively, my guess is that your audience isn’t super-valuable to folks trying to push brokerage accounts and mutual funds. Ramit’s blog is a much better fit (wouldn’t it be great to see how much hate mail *he’d* get…of course he would revel in the hatred).

On the other hand, they are morons for being willing to give up a lightning rod for pageviews and controversies. Sounds like things are way too siloed over there.

As some of the commenters have pointed out, Yahoo has served its purpose. It brought your blog a big audience. Lord knows, the financial part of it hurts (those who have never been a freelancer or entrepreneur don’t understand what a miracle it is to get money deposited in your bank account every two weeks regardless of what you’ve done), but you’ll be able to focus on writing the kinds of posts you want to write, and on building the startup.

Firings may not be fair, but its rare that a firing occurs without a reasonable degree of misfit between the two parties. Freed from Yahoo’s constraints, you can now write the way you want to write, and that’s a good thing.

Hey Penelope,

I didn’t read your Yahoo column so I guess I won’t be missing anything. Good luck in the next thing, whatever it is. I don’t always agree with what you say, but it sure makes for a good stir in the bucket some days.

That sucks, but think you will come out stronger for it. The start-up will be a success, you are building a great team that is building a great network.

I think you have it figured out, and if you don’t you’ll try and try again.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

There are only two infinite things: The Universe and the stupidity of people. And I am not sure about the first one. - A. Einstein.

now that… was a great blog. Well done and all the best in your next steps. i will definitely stay tuned in 2008!

P-
Isn’t life a ball??? I was fired right after my mother died unexpectedly this year. But I immediately started the job search and quickly found a position in another firm that seems more in line with my goals, let alone pays better. I’m sure you’ll find a better path yourself and everything will work out. I love your blog and will continue to follow your writing, wherever the path takes you. Enjoy the holidays!

Why not continue the column on this site? It seems like you have built enough traffic for a following - hatred or not. Throw a few ads up, look up Feedburner ads into your feeds, market your self/this site a bit more, and well you might get some of that revenue back.

Penelope! Here’s wishing you an even brighter and more prosperous 2008.

I think bigger and better things are going to come your way. You are so funny, honest, perceptive, and insightful that you’ll be able to write a number of places.

I’ve learned more from your columns then from some of the “preachy” books I’ve read on careers & relationships.

You remind me that nobody has the answers…and that even career columnists get fired sometimes. It makes me realize that all of us have lives that are messy and works in progress adn that’s the way it should be.

Kudos to you for your brave writing! Looking forward to more of the same in 2008

Ahh…yes. One more indication showing how google gets it and yahoo doesn’t.

Because at yahoo, they’ve (sadly) long since digressed into “maximizing shareholder value” vs. “helping the customer kick ass”

“yeah…she’s a great draw, does a very excellent job, but frankly you’re just not meeting our arbitrary metrics”.

Take heart Penelope, it could be worse. ( http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/01/giving_a_damn_a.html )

-aaron

Sounds like a very strange way to get fired, a chance meeting while both are in New York? I guess they weren’t too upset at your work. At least there are other sources of income while you seek better employment than at Yahoo. Your articles are certainly thought-provoking and interesting to read.

I agree with another poster, call Google - they’d love to widen the gap with Yahoo even more….

Enjoy those kids during the holidays!!

Penelope,

Your advice has always been about what is *really* going on in the world, but people are either too stupid or too scared to acknowledge it. I would say also that your comments about the “next generation” of work are also true. Here in Silicon Valley where I work, your posts are stunningly accurate and on point. I suspect that many of the commenters on Y! finance are simply old men, or perhaps someone you’ve personally offended, or perhaps even a competitor. People in the midwest do not understand yet—their old line factories have not yet caught up with the new world reality. These are the same people who riot at the idea of the global economy.

Hang in there, girl. I must tell you I think the people at Y! really are Yahoos—-I’ve yet to meet people who worked there who were intelligent with leadership skills. I’ve turned down several opportunities to work there because the people were just insufferable. Most are people trying to do as little as possible to get by to protect their stock options. Having you fly on your own time and expense to NYC to pull this crap is typical of the Harvard Business School morons I’ve worked with—::snort:: leadership my a$$.

I don’t always agree with you—In particular I think you embrace the “age wars” concept a little too much—but you are honest about your life, direct in your writing, and always have something new and interesting to write about.

Slightly off topic–I was stunned to read the comments at Y! finance that someone suggested you not use links in your posts? Where do their readers come from, Mississippi? Sheesh!

You’ve been on my RSS feed for awhile, and like the others I hated going to Y! to finish a column from my blog reader. So….consider me a loyal reader.

I’d occasionally glance at the comments from your Yahoo article and was really disappointed with the unprofessionalism. It’s one thing to disagree but name calling is just ridiculous.

Yahoo’s audience really wasn’t a good fit (I can’t believe I just used that HR cop-out phrase)for you. Microsoft’s MSN is in desperate need of some attention, maybe you give them a call.

Penelope-

I’ve been using the MBPT as my hammer lately and it works for alot of nails!

I am a ENFP and am guessing that is what you are too. When I read your material, I understand your points exactly. With this type of thinking, I have had a very successful (in flexibility and money) engineering consulting career.

The 400 comments came from mostly IS (Introverted Sensing) people. Who is most likely to be conducting a dialog using a computer, introverted or extraverted? And who bases their decisions on written information, intuitive or sensing?

Why are there so many IS boomers writing negative comments?

1. Your largest audience is by definition IS people which is our Inferior type.

I suspect the x’er culture has produced more EN people and the boomer culture has created more IS people. I also think something in the Jewish culture tends to create more EN people. (I would like to see a study on this!)

2. The IS people don’t understand EN people.

We synthesize and draw conclusions based on things that seem perfectly obvious to us, but they don’t understand how we come come up with this “crap”. Professionally, I try to have a ES or IN person buffer my dialog with the IS types. (seek an editor of these types)

3. IS are more likely to write comments.

As an ENFJ, I have never left comments on Yahoo in support of you. Unless I have something insightful to add, I have better things to do.
Only a bored person would leave comments with no added insight. The IS people like to be in a routine, don’t move on for better things, therefore are more likely to be bored.

I really enjoyed reading your articles on yahoo. Now that I have found your blog I am hooked. By looking at the amount of negative comments left on Yahoo, I will have to agree with Jeremiah. The Yahoo audience (in general) was not a good fit.

Keep up the good work.

You are simply awesome. I found you through Yahoo; so if nothing else it was a conduit to a larger audience. I am eager to see what the future brings to you, you are a role model and mentor to me and many others. Wherever you land, we will all be here.

Hi Penelope, I’m really sorry to hear about this. If it makes you feel better, from my perspective your personal blog has been more influential than your Yahoo! column. I know how hard the financial stuff can be, but at least the speaking is bringing in good money, and you still get higher advances for your books than most authors I know.

I too sometimes get mired in the difficulties of the life we have chosen, and it helps when a colleague or reader says to me that they would give anything to be in my position: to be doing what they love, on their own schedule. I think that we really are very lucky in the scheme of things.

Hang in there. 2008 is bound to bring lots of good things.

Best,

Alexandra Levit

Hi Penelope! That really sucks about Yahoo. I loved reading your column there. I know you will land something great very soon. In my experience of getting fired, it always frees me up to accept an even better opportunity!

Also, I think your life seems glamorous because you have the knowledge, ability and platform to help people. You have helped me to clarify my career goals and to see what matters most to me. It’s really wonderful what you do.

Well — sounds like the Yahoo! execs don’t know how to make money off great content. This does not bode well for them, but given the way that company has been going lately, not much does.

Good luck! If more people just add your RSS feed here, you won’t need Yahoo! :)

Sorry to hear about the unfortunate turn of events.

But at the risk of preaching a bit…..As a career adviser, you would do well to take a lesson from Dave Ramsey’s teachings to prepare yourself financially for the sudden loss of income. If you follow his philosophies, you’ll make yourself financially healthy enough to withstand the uncontrollable circumstances you’ve just experienced. The grass will be more green and the air will be more fresh than ever once you’ve achieved financial freedom. It’ll set you free.

Good luck going forward.

The Yahoo column really wasn’t very good.

Hey Miss P, sorry to hear about this.

It’s never fun.

As you know, personal finance, especially behavioral finance, is my Big Passion.

So if you ever want to discuss personal financial ideas/options, just email me, ok?

As you know I volunteer as a financial counselor here in SEA and help people all the time with their financial roadmap.

The end of one thing signals the beginning of something else. You can’t have one without the other. Now that the end of Yahoo is behind you - let’s see what now gets started.

It’ll be fun to watch. Maybe even inspirational.

Live long and prosper - Spock

Later,
LK

P:
I can guarantee that there is a bigger opportunity for you and this firing is just making room for that. I’ve been telling my friends this for years when crappy things happen at work. Then about 1.5 years ago I had a crappy work thing happen to me (didn’t get a promotion I thought was in the bag) and one of my friends gave me the whole “bigger opportunity” speech and I was really annoyed with her. But she was right. I got my dream job six months later. Had I been promoted, I’d still be at my old job working with a bunch of monkeys.

I know you’re a tough chick and really don’t need my pep talk, but I wanted to send some positive vibes your way.

Hey, don’t look the lifestyles thing like an insult. Career driven advice does fit in better with a lifestyles channel than an investing channel. Regardless of the proposed audience, it could just be the perfect fit with far fewer dismissive comments.

Penelope,

Most of the people who cast stones on the Yahoo blog aren’t smart enough to use an RSS reader - as always, it’s sure that you’ll receive a more thoughtful and critical response on your blog.

Yahoo’s decision to enable comments on their expert blogs was a misguided attempt to generate any sort of viral effect after so many other failed attempts at creativity - I’m sure it boosted the bottom line a little, but it will inevitably drive away talent. They have consistently grasped at straws and shuffled their feet as the managers and sycophants wrench the reigns away from the creative and technically adept at that organization.

Yahoo is a company in deep pain and in serious need of an identity enema. They have a staggering (internal and external) inferiority complex to Google and are hacking away with a machete at everything outside the core group (you) before they actually admit the true depth of the coming restructure. This reeks of a mid-level executive attempting to save his job.

It is truly ironic and sad that they would cut loose such a fruitful source of traffic without even considering an immediate internal referral - it speaks to the deep disfunction and siloism that exists in that organization.

The truth is rarely popular with corporatism - you have been honest and helped those who would listen to maybe avoid the 2-7% yearly pay increase for which so many misguided souls will settle. In that, you have helped people grow and enjoy more fulfilling lives. Thank You.

Good luck with your future - I will be reading.

Mojo

I fired Yahoo about 10 years ago. Who really does use Yahoo?? Do they really have anything to offer? They aren’t anything special..

This is a blessing in disguise as the ending of most jobs. You should be really happy you are not associated with a company that is not going any where. They seem to be content with being number 2. Personally I think your writing is star status and I am really surprised that I randomly found your web page.

Oh and I am here also

“The thing is, I don’t think I’m a huge risk taker. I just choose the lifestyle I want first, before I choose my work. Lifestyle first means that I turned down entry-level bullshit jobs in favor of playing professional beach volleyball. Not because I was dying to have all my friends think I was a lunatic, but because I couldn’t believe people expect you to do mindless work after earning a college degree.”

it makes life more livable and interesting.

Good Luck with whatever you do.

P.S. Yahoo: Business 2.0 went out of business because they made stupid business decisions like letting great writers go..

I’m sorry to see you leaving, Penelope, and even sorrier about Business 2.0, which I still miss even after all this time.

I’d like to think there’s some possibility the “Lifestyles” comment was meant sincerely and with the best of intentions but just came out horribly, horribly wrong. This doesn’t seem to be the case, however.

I wish you the best going forward, and I’d like to see how Yahoo responds to this, if at all (you know there will be people posting about it all over the blogosphere and the conversation boards at Yahoo - I came here via Valleywag).

It might come as a total shock to them to find out that there are actually working women who make and invest money and appreciate a woman’s presence - and perspective - on finance and career issues!

How about *that* for a “Lifestyles” topic?

Although I have rarely agreed with your advice. I have enjoyed you column. It’s been nice to get a different view point than my own. I’m also far to mature to bash you on your own bandwidth.

Good luck in your future endeavors. I will continue to follow your blog

I’m glad that your alarmingly bad advice such as “Don’t ask for time off, just take it.” and “Tone down your work ethic.” will no longer be part of Yahoo!.

Penelope,

I’ve really enjoyed reading your Yahoo! column–such a fresh perspective on careers and life. Don’t lose any of your edge and your opinions; they challenge us as readers and life-livers. I look forward to seeing where you land next.

–Tyler
Game Designer, Writer
http://www.strangejourneys.com

Penelope:

Strange how after reading your post and all the comments that all I feel is happiness and joy for you.

Getting fired sucks, yes, when you aren’t quite prepared. I know theoretically we should all have six month’s expenses in the bank, but the reality is that most people don’t. For all I know you may … but it still requires a big attitude adjustment to get used to less predictable income each month.

The reason I know you will be ok is that you speak your truth. You may not feel like a risk-taker, but from my perspective you are one of the most courageous people I know. You speak your truth, even when you know it is unpopular and will make you a target. Those that don’t write for a living may not understand the emotional fortitude it takes to write from your heart about things that are important to you, then hang a picture of your face on a great big target when you press the “publish” button. It is so much easier to criticize than come up with original ideas!

I agree with the readers that say Yahoo was not the best place for you. There are “your” people out there (many at this blog) waiting for your specific advice, who will put it to good use and make positive changes in their life. No advice is right for everyone, since we are all different.

Taking you out of that gig has freed you up for a different situation, one which will stretch and grow you in new ways.

When my husband lost a few huge contracts this year with no notice, we used the time to step back and re-assess what we wanted to do with the business. The downtime allowed us to complete some key things that have positioned us for more stability and growth in the coming year. It was scary as hell figuring out the financial side, but we made it and everything worked out.

You are bright and talented and will not hurt for money to take care of your family. Trust me! Just keep doing what you are doing.

Happy New Year! Looking forward to the next chapter.

Your column was the first and only thing I’ve read on Yahoo! I loved the fresh perspective, and to be honest, the weird hate comments were really an interesting window into a dying corporate mindset. I’ll miss your column, but I look forward to whatever comes next. Personally, I’m hoping it’s not “lifestyles” - blech!

Good luck.

Penelope, I know you’ll bounce from this and likely onto something even better. Here’s hoping this is one of the closed doors/opened windows deals, which will lead to a more prosperous 2008!!

Thanks for sharing this; I can imagine how disruptive it would be to lose that contract. But I’m still a little envious–you have multiple streams of income whereas I merely have multiple streams of work. Losing a big income stream is tough, but it is not the same thing as if I were fired from my job and suddenly unemployed without health care coverage for my growing family.

I think it is smart for you to tell the story (the facts behind the “why”) here. The permanently pessimistic readers at yahoo will claim victory and try to spin this as vindication of their criticism of you. Actually it simply proves they are worth less to yahoo than the successful people who read the financial blogs on yahoo. All those yapping fools are bringing down the collective value of the Yahoo Finance brand…so, arguably, they got fired too.

I think you will find something better quickly. Good luck!

First and foremost edw is a loser and needs to grow up.

Secondly I am sorry about being fired from Yahoo, but you never know…being fired from Yahoo could open up new and better doors for you.

P.S. I wish I could make a living off of web-design so I could be with my 3 children everyday instead of working a 9-5. You’re truly blessed.

Pen;
I’ve always been a firm believer in two things: When God closes a door, he always opens a window; and living well is the best revenge.

Go & get ‘em! I know that you will do a great column wherever you land, and it will be fabulous! You always seem to get to the root of the issue (even if others don’t want to hear it) quickly, and offer great advice.

Good luck in the New Year, and in your new endeavors!

I suggest you get in a flowery dress with a frilly apron and go back to the guy who suggested you write about “Womens’ topics” and tell him that you’d love to take his suggestion, but you’re afraid that your role is to stay home and cook all day long, so you really don’t feel comfortable with it. You’re grateful however, that he was so kind as to suggest something like that…..ahh, what a twit.

Business is as much for women as finance and as childraising and as cooking.

Anyway, good luck with your next move!

Another idea, you might consider writing for the Wall Street Journal. They have some great blogs and I think your content would be super fresh for them. They have a great blog called The Juggle that is often controversial and heated in its exchanges, though much less filled with vitriol than Yahoo Finance.

PT,

The whole ‘I got canned because I brought the CPM rate down’ is pure baloney. Doesn’t it make sense that if “Yahoo is about traffic” and your “column has some of the highest traffic on all of Yahoo” then Yahoo would keep you around since you provide their advertizers with the exposure they desire? If you provided more impressions than the other columnists (which your citation of Wikipedia supports) then you should attract a higher CPM, not lower.

I can only conclude that CPM was not the rfeal reason they dumped you. The real reason was that your advice was just terrible - plain and simple. Your column made a mockery of Yahoo’s attempt to provide reliable, sound advice, so they no longer wanted to associate your “brand” with theirs. Result - you got canned. You weren’t the first (e.g. Rosie - great for the ratings, terrible brand), and you won’t be the last.

My advice to you and your readers is: work hard, do a good job, and don’t expect something for nothing.

I never read what you write for Yahoo, unless you link to it from your blog. I’m extremely selective about the blogs I read daily; I only allow myself five and if I find one I like better than my five, I have to eliminate one. You are solidly in my five. I admire your fearless candor and your balance between your personal struggles and achievements and career advice. I’ve used your advice to my significant benefit when negotiating salary for a new job. Just wanted you to know that, even when I totally disagree with you, I think you are quite spectacular.

Tertius -

CPM is not about how much traffic you have. It’s about how much each impression is worth. Yahoo is about traffic, but they need to monetize that traffic.

Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!! Or should I say “Yahoo!”?

I’m amused the pinheads from Yahoo have shown up. They must really be losers with no life to follow someone around like this.

Don’t feed the trolls folks. Ignore them and they will go away.

Penelope, I urge you to purge the comments that come from people like trunk addict. I don’t want to have to read that negativity.

maybe you should go get an MBA. It’s a great degree for changing the direction of your career. In addition to providing a great business network, it gives you more qualifications and education to put on your resume, which it seems like you might be needing now. Just a thought.

I can’t believe that Yahoo thinks “finance” is just about what the stock market is doing or not doing today or whether the housing boom was actually a bubble (DUH). Zillions of sites cover money in a male-oriented way, complete with sports metaphors, which is a real snoozer for over h