World Rock Paper Scissors Championship Actually Exists with Yahoo’s Money

Honestly, I have been surprised to find out from a Yahoo newsletter I am subscribed to that there actually exists a world championship in Rock Paper Scissors. And while it may be difficult to figure out how it could be viewed as technology or internet news that we tend to cover here on Profy, I’ll tell you: the championship is officially sponsored by Yahoo. Yes, the company that will lay off 10% of employees this week to cut costs. From the newsletter it looks like Yahoo is still trying to help make some lives happier by sponsoring contests like this one.

The championship is organized by the World RPS society to promote Rock Paper Scissors as a safe way to resolve disputes. This past Saturday Yahoo RPS world championship drew more than 700 participants from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, and Argentina to Toronto in Canada to demonstrate their skills in Rock Paper Scissors.

I know there are tons of various competitions and contests that can be often questioned about the value they can bring to the participants or the humankind. And while I don’t object any such contests as they can make lives more exciting to some people who want to show the world how skillful they are in running with their wives on the shoulders or Rock Paper Scissors in this case, I don’t think it is really wise sponsoring such questionable events for a company that publicly declares cost containment actions that will damage at the very least 1,430 people.

Sure, the total costs involved in Yahoo sponsoring such an event should not be particularly high: the prize money amounted to $13,000 and I believe that there must have been other costs involved, like food and drinks for participants and probably even paying for trip and accommodation for national champions to arrive to this event. But even at such a small scale, I think it would not hurt avoiding any costs that can not be considered as vital for a company in such a poor financial position.

Of course sponsoring this championship could be intended as some kind of advertising and promotion for Yahoo but I honestly don’t get it as I have a feeling that the famous Yahoo sign on Times Square in New York is way more efficient than sponsoring any small event like this championship – and while it is definitely expensive, it is still something tourists already expect to make photos of when visiting New York and removing it could be a yet another evidence of the poor state of Yahoo’s business.

So no, I do not object advertising when the situation is bad for the company, but I honestly don’t think people who will get to know they are fired from Yahoo some time this week should appreciate this particular case of throwing money away by their current employer. I feel that if money used to sponsor this event could be used to keep at least one person employed for a year or so, such promotional activities should never even be considered as a possibility at all.