Ebay's Meg Whitman to Step Down After a Decade as CEO
During most of Whitman’s tenure, eBay seemed unstoppable. But the network effects that made it so powerful in the Web 1.0 era began to dissipate as destination sites began to lose some of their appeal. Now that people want to bring the Web to them—to their blog or MySpace or Facebook page—eBay needs to adapt to the new realities
It is not for lack of trying (see the bungled Skype acquisition). The old network effects still have a mighty pull, and generate a lot of money for eBay. Whitman maintained eBay’s dominant position in online auctions. But it just seems less and less relevant today.
Here is a ten-year stock chart. During the last two years, eBay has lost about half its value. Not a great note to leave on.