Yang's Lowercase Tendencies Might Have Been a Sign

Shannon Geis writes: From the memo announcing Yahoo's repudiation of the Microsoft offer in May, to a memo earlier this month announcing layoffs, and to his final memo announcing his resignation as C.E.O. last night, Jerry Yang has consistently issued missives in lower-case letters. What could it mean?

Handwriting analysts put a lot of emphasis on capital letters. According to several handwriting analysis websites, capital letters, no matter whether they are at the beginning of proper names, sentences, or signatures, signify personal esteem, personal confidence, and the importance of people or places in the writer's life.

Smaller capital letters indicate lower self-confidence in handwriting.

Yang's actions as C.E.O. of Yahoo haven't always been the most confident moves for the company. And lately he seemed to be pleading with everyone from Google to AOL to Microsoft help them out.

GigaOM notes that Yang was never an inspirational leader, and he never addressed the core issues needed to save the company.

Perhaps viewing this as the last short-stature-letter memo, Yahoo investors sent shares up 11 percent on Tuesday to $11.80 a share. Apparently Yahoo needs a bolder, more uppercased statement.