Yahoo Message Boards Site and Other Products

What's This?

Yahoo announced in a Friday afternoon blog post that it's killing seven products from its line of consumer offerings.
The doomed products include Yahoo's BlackBerry app and Sports IQ. The BlackBerry app will still be available to users who have already downloaded it, but support for it will cease. The Yahoo Message Boards website is also set for shuttering, although users will still be able to access message boards for individual properties such as Yahoo Sports and Yahoo Finance. Yahoo avatars will no longer be supported either, while the Yahoo Clues beta product, Yahoo App Search and Yahoo Updates API round out the list of casualties.
All the changes take effect April 1, except for the Yahoo Updates API, which will stick around until April 16.

"Ultimately, we’re making these changes in an effort to sharpen our focus," Jay Rossiter, Yahoo's executive vice president for platforms, wrote in the blog post announcing the changes. "By continuing to hone in on our core products and experiences, we’ll be able to make our existing products the very best they can be."
While not extremely significant by any stretch, the cuts are the latest change to the company since Marissa Mayer was hired as CEO in July.
The most dramatic of those changes, of course, came in late February, when Mayer announced that Yahoo employees would no longer be allowed to work from home. That surprise decision sparked a fierce debate in the tech world. Yahoo later responded to criticism but it's remained a central topic of conversation since.

Image courtesy of Flickr, codepo8
Yahoo  Message Boards Site and Other Products

Yahoo Intros Cost-Per-Lead Search Ads, First New Format Under Marissa Mayer

Yahoo Advertising is introducing something of a groundbreaking new ad unit, inserting a cost-per-lead ad just under a site’s listing within the organic search results. It also allows Yahoo a new way to earn off search separately from its deal with Microsoft, which has proven disappointing for the company.
The new ad format, which can collect information like demographics, email addresses or phone numbers, is called Cost Per Lead for Search. It’s clearly marked as “Ad from” with the advertiser’s name following.

Advertisers can choose a headline, logo and up to six individual fields for users to fill out. The “thank you” text that appears after users complete the form can also be customized.
The Cost Per Lead for Search ads are already appearing for online dating site Match.com:

In the Match.com example, once a user submits the information and gets the thank you message, a new tab is opened up automatically so the person can finish filling out their online dating profile.

Yahoo says it will verify all submitted user data so advertisers pay only for legitimate leads. The company didn’t elaborate on minimums or costs but said pricing will vary by product or service.
Rather than an auction-based process, prices will be set via advertiser size and vertical, a Yahoo spokesperson told me. Only one such ad will appear per SERP, and if two advertisers are eligible, the higher-ranked one will be shown. Rather than being targeted by keyword, the ads appear every time the organic result shows up — the ad doesn’t change the ranking, just “annotates” the organic listing.
Yahoo gets its organic search, and many paid listings, via its relationship with Bing Advertising. The company handles relationships with larger advertisers itself,however, and says marketers interested in the new ad format should contact their sales representative.

The closest we’ve seen to this ad unit in search is a cost-per-lead AdWords format that Google launched earlier this year. This is the first new search-related ad unit released by Yahoo in quite some time, and comes under the fairly new leadership of former Googler Marissa Mayer.

Yahoo Intros Cost-Per-Lead Search Ads, First New Format Under Marissa Mayer

Yahoo, NBC Sports Group Partner to Offer ‘All-Star’ Sports Coverage

Yahoo Sports got a boost this week.
Yahoo has announced its partnership with NBC Sports Group — a content and promotional alliance that will offer an “all-star lineup of digital and on-air experiences.”
Yahoo Sports, will be incorporated into NBC Sports Group, growing the company’s digital assets. Yahoo’s sports reporting, fantasy sports pages and Rivals’ college content will be promoted on the NBC network. Yahoo Sports will also be connected to live streams of the network’s sports broadcasts. The companies will not only work together to create web shows that will appear on both websites, but will partner on major sporting events for both television and the Internet, doubling promotion at a nominal cost.
Despite the partnership, the sites will retain separate newsrooms and editorial control over their own content.

The financial terms of the deal were not divulged.
The partnership is part of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s plan to update and improve the search engine through partnerships and acquisitions.
“Passionate fans need news and analysis about their favorite teams in real time, and they want access to that information no matter where they are,” said Ken Fuchs vice-president of Yahoo! Global Media and head of Yahoo! Sports and Games.
“We’re thrilled to combine Yahoo!’s fantasy offerings, product innovation and editorial authority with NBC’s broadcast coverage of live sports events and award-winning on-air talent. We think our users will love the result.”

According to an excerpt from a joint press release, key features of the partnership include:
Editorial Depth: The combined talent roster of Yahoo! Sports and NBC Sports features a deep bench of award-winning reporters and commentators, such as NBC’s Bob Costas and Mike Florio; Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Wetzel and Adrian Wojnarowski. Yahoo! Sports’ renowned investigative reporting will be featured on NBC TV, giving fans multiple-platform delivery.

Original Video Programming Concepts: Yahoo! Sports and NBC Sports will work together to develop original made-for-web video programs that will appear on both Yahoo! Sports and NBCSports.com featuring fan favorites from among the award-winning editorial teams’ rosters, including:

• NBC Sports host and Emmy Award-winning commentator Bob Costas: video sports news interviews and editorials
• Football Night in America’s Tony Dungy & Rodney Harrison: video segments during NFL season
• Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com: daily, weekday NFL web show, Pro Football Talk Live
• Rivals on Recruiting: weekly college recruiting show with Rivals and NBC Sports talent.

Live Streaming: Yahoo! Sports will link to and promote the NBC Sports Live Extra video player. Fans will be able to watch live streams of some of NBC’s biggest events, starting with Sunday Night Football and NHL Game of the Week. Live content from NBC Sports Network will continue to be distributed through NBC Sports Live Extra on a TV Everywhere basis.

Fantasy Sports: Yahoo! Sports, the leading fantasy platform, will become the exclusive fantasy game provider of NBC Sports’ Rotoworld, the premiere fantasy news and information site. This will include Yahoo! Sports’ fantasy experiences for football, baseball, hockey, soccer, College Bowl Pick’em and Tourney Pick’em.

Rivals.com: The college sports destination will power recruiting and college sporting news for NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports Regional Networks.
NBC Sports Regional Networks: The authentic, local sports properties will serve as Yahoo! Sports’ preferred content provider in relevant markets, and integrate Yahoo! Sports’ team pages, fantasy experts and sports talent.
NBC’s Alli Sports: Providing youth-focused, action-sports video and other content to Yahoo! Sports.

Post from: SiteProNews

Yahoo Acquires OnTheAir to Boost Mobile Platform

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is making good on her promise to beef up the company’s mobile strategy to bring the floundering search engine into the future.
OnTheAir, a small startup specializing in broadcasting video chats and interviews to online audiences, announced Dec. 4 it is “joining forces with Yahoo.”
Founded by a five-person team of former Meebo, Google, Apple, and Cookiris employees in March of this year, OnTheAir was acquired for an unknown sum. But, given the company has publicly received less than $1 million in seed funding and Mayer’s assertion that Yahoo was looking to make small acquisitions, it is unlikely the purchase price was staggering.
Yahoo confirmed in an e-mail the five-person OnTheAir team — Abel Allison, Daniel Hopkins, Erik Goldman, Josh Schwarzapel, and Mike Kerzhner — would focus on Yahoo’s mobile offerings.
“When we started OnTheAir, we had dreams of building a company that made a difference in the daily lives of millions,” the OnTheAir website reads. “Our pursuit was challenging: We put in late nights together. We debated intensely. We worked like crazy to build a product we were proud to put our name on. While we haven’t yet attained our dream of building a widespread daily use product, we are just as committed to it. And this is why we’re so excited to be joining Yahoo,” the post continues.”
“When we first met with the team at Yahoo, it was clear that everybody there is committed to making mobile products the backbone for the world’s daily habits. All in all, it’s a fascinating time to be joining Yahoo. There’s a tremendous amount of energy in the company. There are big things to be done and great products to be built, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it.”
Yahoo senior vice-president of emerging products and technology Adam Cahan described the addition of the OnTheAir team as a boon to Yahoo.
“Hiring the most talented mobile product thinkers and engineers is a big priority for us moving forward,” Cahan said in a statement.
He said Yahoo “can’t wait to work with them to create the best possible mobile experience for our users.”
This acquisition is the second small, mobile-oriented deal since Mayer filled the top spot at Yahoo this spring. Yahoo in October purchased Stamped, a New York-based mobile startup that enables users to share information about favorite restaurants and music on their Smartphones.

Post from: SiteProNews

Yahoo, Samsung Partner to Offer Interactive TV

Yahoo and Samsung have announced an expanded multi-year partnership to integrate its broadcast interactivity service into the company’s Smart TVs.
Broadcast interactivity is Internet-enhanced television with a twist.
Under the arrangement, Yahoo’s SoundPrint audio fingerprint technology will unite with Samsung’s SyncPlus platform. The combination will result in real-time content in conjunction with TV shows and advertisements on Samsung TVs.
“Today, consumers are engaging in interactive TV program experiences more and more,” Eric Anderson, vice-president of content and product solutions at Samsung Electronics America said in a press release.
“Samsung’s SyncPlus service combined with Yahoo! Broadcast Interactivity and SoundPrint will provide consumers with a very entertaining experience. We are very pleased to partner with Yahoo! and we look forward to a successful collaboration in the years to come.”
Yahoo’s interactive television programming could come in the form of trivia, additional show insights, program statistics and gaming options. Showtime Networks and National Geographic Channel are two of the initial TV programming partners to offer trivia.


For example, Showtime Boxing fans could access in-depth fight information such as photos and videos. They could also test their knowledge of boxers or vote for the boxer they think will win the match.

The system also gives users the option of using their Smartphones or tablets as a stand-in for their remote control to view or share bonus content. Users can also receive on-screen prompts about other viewing options.


The Yahoo-Samsung partnership will also foster new forms of advertising by extending traditional 30-second commercials into “immediate actions.”
Broadcast interactivity-enabled commercials, will allow advertisers to embed calls-to-action for downloading apps or digital media, providing coupons, ordering samples, reading reviews or viewing product information.

“We are thrilled that our expanded partnership with Samsung extends our platform’s footprint, enabling our content partners and advertisers to reach many more consumers,” said Ron Jacoby, vice-president of Connected TV at Yahoo!. “Content owners can augment their programming, and advertisers can create compelling calls-to-action that allow audiences to engage on marketing messages the moment they are delivered.”

Mobile the Wave of Yahoo’s Future: Mayer

Yahoo’s new CEO, Marissa Mayer, will focus on devising a comprehensive mobile strategy to bring the floundering search engine into the future.
Mayer, who revealed her plan in a conference call with analysts Oct. 22, said although Yahoo has under-invested in mobile in the past, it is “a huge wave for us to ride.”

Mayer, of Google fame, is determined to work her magic on Yahoo by focusing on users’ “daily habits” such as e-mail, the home page and Internet search as well as mobile devices.
“While we have a lot to do, the future of Yahoo is incredibly bright,” Mayer said, adding Yahoo is “well-positioned in the era of tablets and Smartphones” because of its content leadership.
Mayer also discussed forming a closer relationship with Microsoft, its software provider and Web search partner, while using technology to bolster its display ads business through such features as automated buying.

She also said Yahoo will pull out of international businesses that fail to grow. The company announced last week its plans to shut down its struggling business in South Korea before the new year.
Yahoo’s quarterly earnings surpassed analysts’ expectations pushing shares up by about four percent to $16.46 in after hours trading.

Yahoo earned $177 million in operations income and adjusted net earnings of 35 cents per share. The earnings do not include the company’s $2.8-billion gain due to the sale of its Alibaba Group shares.
Yahoo’s net revenue is sitting at $1.09 billion up from $1.07 billion in 2011’s third quarter.
Mayer, who took on her position in July has already made her presence known with a thorough redesign of Yahoo.com. Until the redesign, which was unveiled earlier this month, the search engine website had sported the same look for years.

The new look, which was largely cosmetic, included a redesigned logo.
Yahoo.com is Yahoo’s most valuable product. According to ComScore, 170 million people visit Yahoo sites each day and the majority of them are directed to this page.

Yahoo.com Gets New Look

Marissa Mayer of Google fame is working her magic on Yahoo.
Just two months after becoming CEO of the company, the former Google product executive is updating Yahoo.com.

The changes include:
• A centered search bar, which is part of a darker toolbar at the top of the page as the user scrolls down.
• The Yahoo! logo is smaller and the lettering is white instead of purple.
• A magnifying glass icon has been substituted for the word “search.”
• There are fewer links to Yahoo sites on the left side. Removed from the queque are Dating, Flickr, Games, Jobs, Messenger, Music, My Yahoo!, and TV.
• Local weather and Astrology both have their own sections.
• Trending items have been moved to the left column.
• There is a now second large story below the top stories.
• Rather than just headlines, the news river has story summaries.

The new design can be seen here.
Yahoo.com is Yahoo’s most valuable product. According to ComScore, 170 million people visit Yahoo sites each day and the majority of them are directed to Yahoo.com.

Yahoo Again Offering Contextual Ads

Yahoo is once again serving contextual ads on third-party sites through a new partnership with Media.net.

Publishers can use the Media.net platform to produce and modify ad units exhibiting pertinent text ads from across the Yahoo Bing Network — the new name for the merged Yahoo-Bing search ad marketplace.

Yahoo’s re-emergence on the scene comes two years after it shut down Yahoo Publisher, a network that competed with Google’s AdSense program. It helped publishing partners add revenue to their sites on a cost-per-click basis by serving contextually relevant ads.

Under their partnership, Media.net will administer technology, business operations and relationships with publishers worldwide for the program. Yahoo will supervises technology, business operations and relationships with advertisers and drive advertiser sales. It will also be in charge of meeting quality traffic standards.

600M of Facebook’s Users are Mobile

Sixty percent of Facebook’s one billion monthly active users are accessing the social networking site from their mobile devices.

That is 600 million mobile users.

In June 2012, Facebook had 543 million mobile users of its 955 million monthly active users, which is about 57 percent of its total user base.

The social networking site is devoting its resources to provide better service to its mobile users. It has released a native iPhone app and will soon release a native Android app as well

Job Cuts, Restructuring to Cost Google $300M

Google Inc will be digging deep into its coffers to finance severance packages for workers at its money-losing Motorola Mobility unit.

Between job cuts in the third quarter and “significant” additional charges from further restructuring, Google will shell out at least $300 million. The company said the bill could escalate another $40 million in the quarter after the exit of facilities and markets.

“Motorola has continued to refine its planned restructuring actions and now expects to broaden those actions to include additional geographic regions outside of the U.S.,” the company said in a statement.

Google has not announced any further plans for the money-losing cellphone maker, although a spokeswoman said the company would not be announcing additional job cuts.

Microsoft and Barnes & Noble Finalize Partnership

Microsoft and Barnes & Noble have finalized their partnership five months after the original announcement.

Together, the companies, under the moniker Nook Media, LLC., will create a spin-off that will include Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-reader and college textbook businesses.

Microsoft will pay Barnes & Noble $300 million and drop patent claims it had previously filed against the book retailer in exchange for a 17.6 percent share of Nook Media.

In turn, Nook Media must pay license fees to Microsoft for technologies covered by patents that were at issue in the lawsuit.

As part of the agreement, Barnes & Noble must develop a Nook-branded e-reader app for use on Windows 8 PCs and tablets,.

Post from: SiteProNews