While many of the people who consider themselves the ‘Web Elite’ moved to Google’s trendier services a long time ago, Yahoo still has a vast number of users. That’s why it’s still important when Yahoo updates its services.Yahoo has announced of number of upgrades to key Yahoo properties including Mail and Messenger. The updates see a new emphasis on social data from around the web.
Here are the key changes:
Yahoo Mail
– Yahoo Mail has had a much-needed social overhaul. It will now be possible to see updates from your friends’ social activity around the web (Flickr uploads and Twitter updates for example) within Mail.
– New tools help you edit photos, share and organise photos (including access to Flickr direct from Mail), save and share up to 100MB of files and send money from your PayPal account.
– There’s a new, better optimised mobile version of Yahoo Mail.
– You can find out more at Yahoo Mail’s changes overview page.
Yahoo Messenger
– The biggest update here is Video chat, something that surprisingly has been missing from Yahoo’s venerable IM client until now.
– The social activity monitor featured in Yahoo Mail is also here.
Search
– While Yahoo may be integrating with Microsoft’s Bing search technology soon, that hasn’t stopped a number of new Yahoo search features being announced today.
– A new left-hand column will allow you to drill down into content from certain sites. Look for information on The Eiffel Tower, for example and you may get the ability to switch straight into a Youtube or Wikipedia search.
– Video results will play directly in the search page.
– Filtering can also apply to social media profiles, making people searching easier. Supported sites are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MyBlogLog and FriendFeed.
– Fun widgets including a calculator and a Magic Eight Ball are included.
– Search Engine Land has an in-depth look at Yahoo’s search changes. It’s worth a look if you’re a search engine buff.
While many people assumed that the recent Microsoft/Yahoo search deal would mean an end to Yahoo’s own search technology that doesn’t appear to be the case. MG Sielger at Techcrunch has a good overview of how the complex new arrangement may work.
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