The new Yahoo mail client was her incentive, it was all over the news and she was actively claiming credit for it. The worst part is that she was claiming that it was faster but all users felt that it was the opposite.
I agree, that that is the relevant point. There should be any number of Google execs to blame, whose period of employment actually coincided with the Picasa/Finance changes, and with some of many other past Google product shutdowns/overhauls. That the author chooses to rip on Mayer -- who hasn't been at Google in the past 6 years -- makes me expect that she was legendarily responsible for other Google product fails, but that doesn't seem the case.
What does Mayer's floundering in her post-Googler-career as Yahoo's CEO have to do with the product failures of Picasa and Finance? Referencing her in this context makes as little sense as referencing Andy Rubin -- another prominent Googler who went on to flounder as CEO.
