Mr. Smartypants

Posted March 26th, 2008 at 3:41 pm by Nicki Dugan, Blog Editor

 2 Comments / Filed in: Working at Yahoo!

What does nine years in Yahoo! Surfing/Search Editorial prepare you for? A chance to stand across the stage from Alex Trebek on Jeopardy!.

Those who can remember back to the days of portal wars, high-flying IPOs, and sock puppets probably recall when the lifeblood of Yahoo! was its hierarchical directory — a time when “browsing” was more prevalent than “searching.” That directory was assembled by a team of “surfers,” a group of intellectually curious and idiosyncratically diverse individuals whose job was to build and expand the equivalent of the Internet phone book for cool sites and useful links. They literally got paid to surf the Web. And they got damn good at trivia.

So good that our very own Dave Sikula has earned a slot as a contestant on Jeopardy! tonight, representing his hometown of Pacifica, California. Dave joined Yahoo! as a surfer in 1999. Although he came to us as an information junkie, having spent several years as the periodicals expert at the fabled Kepler’s Books, his job helped him amass vast knowledge on a wide range of subjects — everything from sports and business to arts and politics.

In short, we’ve created a know-it-all. Tune in tonight to see if Dave can nail those Daily Doubles. Go, Dave!

UPDATE 3/27/08: HE DID IT! He won! And left with $15,000 in his pocket. Tune in tonight so see if he can do it again.

Nicki Dugan
Blog Editor

Tagged: Working at Yahoo!

Rate: (Average: 2 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Post a Comment Bookmark This Digg This

2 Comments Add your own

gag | March 26th, 2008 at 6:15 pm

wow

Andy Catsimanes | March 28th, 2008 at 10:09 pm

Hi Dave!

Just wanted to offer my congrats again. Even though you relegated me to the status of a Jeopardy! “One Hit Wonder”, it was nice sharing the stage with you.

Signed,

Your Vanquished Opponent

Andy

Post a Comment:

• Name (required)
• Mail (will not be published) (required)
• Website

Notes: Please note that Yahoo! may, in our sole discretion, reject comments for any reason we deem appropriate. Links of value to readers are welcome, but please use them sparingly - wield spam and you're banished forever.

This is a moderated site and comments will appear if and when they are approved. We will review the queue several times daily, so please don't resubmit if your comment doesn't appear immediately.