Yahoo Adds Facebook Contact Import Ability
March 5, 2010
Yahoo Mail users should find it considerably more convenient to get in touch with their friends and acquaintances from now on. Today, Yahoo and Facebook made it possible for those users to add their Facebook friends' email addresses to their Yahoo Contacts lists.
The benefits should be obvious. A post on the Yahoo Mail Blog pointed out, "So when you are on Yahoo! Sports and you want to email your old high school buddy that great article on the Winter Olympics, his email address is just a click away. Or maybe you want to forward your cousin your airplane reservations on Yahoo! Mail . . . . [n]ow you can type the first few letters of his name in Yahoo! Mail and - presto! - his email address from his Facebook profile will appear in your email."
The import process is extremely simple, too. Users just need to head to the "Import Contacts" page, click on Facebook's logo, enter their Facebook login info, and wait a few moments for all of the data to transfer.
Whether this development will be enough to make Gmail or Hotmail users give Yahoo Mail a chance is hard to say, but this at least represents a significant step forward in terms of user-friendliness for existing Yahoo Mail fans.
More tie-ups between Yahoo and Facebook are on the way, too, according to Andrew Molyneux, a program manager over Yahoo Mail.
Yahoo Adds Facebook Contact Import Ability
March 5, 2010
Yahoo Mail users should find it considerably more convenient to get in touch with their friends and acquaintances from now on. Today, Yahoo and Facebook made it possible for those users to add their Facebook friends' email addresses to their Yahoo Contacts lists.
The benefits should be obvious. A post on the Yahoo Mail Blog pointed out, "So when you are on Yahoo! Sports and you want to email your old high school buddy that great article on the Winter Olympics, his email address is just a click away. Or maybe you want to forward your cousin your airplane reservations on Yahoo! Mail . . . . [n]ow you can type the first few letters of his name in Yahoo! Mail and - presto! - his email address from his Facebook profile will appear in your email."
The import process is extremely simple, too. Users just need to head to the "Import Contacts" page, click on Facebook's logo, enter their Facebook login info, and wait a few moments for all of the data to transfer.
Whether this development will be enough to make Gmail or Hotmail users give Yahoo Mail a chance is hard to say, but this at least represents a significant step forward in terms of user-friendliness for existing Yahoo Mail fans.
More tie-ups between Yahoo and Facebook are on the way, too, according to Andrew Molyneux, a program manager over Yahoo Mail.
Yahoo Gets Deep With Twitter
February 24, 2010
Yahoo said early Wednesday it has entered into a partnership with Twitter that will integrate real-time tweets across the Yahoo network.
Users will be able to access their personal Twitter feeds on the Yahoo homepage, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Sports, and other areas. Yahoo users will also be able to update their Twitter status from Yahoo and share content in their Twitter feed.
"The information in one single tweet can travel light-years farther with this Yahoo! integration," said Twitter cofounder, Biz Stone. "Tweets in more places brings relevance where and when you need it most."
While Twitter seemingly wants to be everywhere on the Web as it has search deals with Microsoft's Bing and Google, Yahoo is trying to dive deeper into the social realm and become the go-to property for all things social.
Yahoo reached a similar deal with Facebook in December that is expected to roll out in the first half of this year. Users will be able to connect with Facebook friends on Yahoo, view a feed of their friends' activity, and share content such as photos from Flickr or comment on news stories.
The move by Yahoo is also part of its Open Strategy which Jim Stoneham, vice president of Communities for Yahoo said is "aimed at making experiences dramatically more open and personally relevant for the more than 600 million people that visit Yahoo each month."
"Let me try to capture the enormity of this integration in 140 characters or less: We're turning the key to the online social universe - you will find the most personally relevant experiences through Yahoo!," said Bryan Lamkin, senior vice president, consumer products group, Yahoo!.
"We're also simplifying people's lives by bringing their social worlds - and the world -- together for easy access."
Who do you think will see the most benefit from this partnership? Yahoo or Twitter?
Super Bowl Viewers Spend Game Time on the Web
February 7, 2010
Last year, 12% of Super Bowl viewers used the Internet while watching the game according to data from Nielsen. Those that used the web spent an average of 24 minutes online during the game. It would not be at all surprising if those numbers increased significnatly this year.
"Nielsen found that simultaneous users were most engaged in general interest, e-mail, and online social networks," the firm says. "Sports sites, which might be more directly associated with the game itself, were visited by 18% of simultaneous users."
According to Nielsen, about a quarter of simultaneous users spent time during the game using Facebook at an average of 15 minutes. Google and Yahoo Mail also received significant use during game time.
The game takes place this evening of course. Will you be watching? Will you be watching and using the web? How do yo plan on using the web during the Super Bowl?
Have You Read This?
> GoDaddy Back in the News for Super Bowl Ads
> Vote For Your Favorite Super Bowl Ads Online
> Pepsi To Skip Super Bowl For Social Media
