My Yahoo, the leading customized homepage provider, has finally rolled out its redesigned interface to all of its users. Yahoo has allowed users to upgrade to the new interface for over a year, but has taken its time in rolling it out to everyone.
New features in this release include:
- More modules from content providers (New York Times, WSJ, etc.)
- More modules that integrate content from other parts of Yahoo’s network (Flickr photos, Calendar, Movie Showtimes)
- Better support for Third party email (Gmail, POP) and other services (Netflix and Facebook)
- More layout options, tabbed browsing, other navigational improvements
The interface has been in need of a facelift for some time, as Yahoo has watched its userbase dwindle from 56.9 million users last November to 41.6 million in June. Comparatively, iGoogle has has seen increase from 23.8 users in November to 24.3 million unique visitors in May. Google performance isn’t exactly stellar, either (maybe iGoogle could use a refresh too), but at least it hasn’t been losing users. So where did My Yahoo’s 15 million lost users disappear to? We’re guessing Facebook, which has gone from 92.7 million visitors to 123.9 million in the same time period.
Also notable is Yahoo’s announcement that they intend to allow external developers to create their own applications and modules for use on My Yahoo, along with other parts of the Yahoo network.
Hey look, it’s the My Yahoo, Carl Icahn edition:
http://www.live.com/
Wow..we’re surprised iGoogle is coming in second to MyYahoo!
I think the total user-base for this sector (personalized pages) has been dwindling and it’s not a big surprise that the market leader has been hit the hardest. Also iGoogle caters to a slightly different audience and managed to capture it quite successfully.
iGoogle also has more modules, but the ones in My Yahoo are of substantially higher quality and functionality (check for yourself).
Small but tasty. I like the new improvements.
Although, I use Feedly, which works like magic.
Go Feedly
The link to switch back is gone as well here’s how you get that back:
http://www.stevetrefethen.com/.....assic.aspx
Did I miss something that explains why that looks a lot like Netvibes?
Not working so far here in Canada…..grrrr
Zendad
http://www.zendad.net
One thing to note about those comScore numbers for My Yahoo!…
About 20M users disappeared from there because they’re AT&T users, who were reclassified by ComScore when it AT&T My Yahoo rebranded to AT&T, Powered by Yahoo!
So My Yahoo’s market share figure is actually significantly understated by comScore now.
Is it just my computer, or is facebook.com down?
Its not just you. Facebook was down for a few minutes a lil while ago. It is working for me now.
The new MyYahoo! includes some nice touches, but then they keep changing it. Just when you can scan headlines, numbers and graphics quickly, they do something stupid like adding the Quick Links box (whoops, now the 3-column layout extends past the edge of my monitor).
I switched to iGoogle. If MyYahoo! settles down I may change back, but then iGoogle may be a lot better by then, too.
More me-too bullshit from Y!
“We changed my yahoo”
“we hve a cloud computing platform too”
Just bury that company, display ads aren’t going anywhere either decker, you dumb ass.
cool now i can find out my credit score from my yahoo page.
“So where did My Yahoo’s 15 million lost users disappear to?”
I switched from iGoogle to Netvibes about 6 months ago and I never turned back. I’d be interested to see where Netvibes stacks up on that chart against the other two.
Also, Facebook isn’t a newsreader or a widget platform… its a social network first and everything else second. For that reason, Facebook doesn’t really make sense as a comparison because they aren’t functionally the same.
If you are interested in trying something that isn’t an exact clone of every personalized homepage you already use, check out http://www.phome.us
Looks like My MSN also got facelift - http://next.my.msn.com
Thanks TR for the tip. Very nice design from MSN
Looks much better. Definitely an improvement, but still looks like its coming late to the party with so many others already implementing this. Yahoo needs to buck up or else it will lose whatever remaining visitors it has.
Looks like they removed the annoying ad too…
Yes, confirming: the display ad has gone.
The giant ad space in the upper right corner of My Yahoo is far too annoying to deal with, especially since they introduced video advertising. It’s forced me to finally make the switch to iGoogle which doesn’t have such distractions. It must be a real source of frustration for the Yahoo! design team to come up with what is an otherwise very elegant, easy to read design only to have it ruined by a gigantic, old-school advertising space.
Oh wait, they took out the incredibly annoying ad. You have my loyalty back, Yahoo!
Why do you compare facebook in this article? iGoogle and My Yahoo! are nothing like Facebook.
iGoogle does have a refresh coming this month.
@12 - you’re a moron.
I tried the beta off and on on my old laptop, which was too weak to run it well - I hope they keep the option of reverting to original for oldies.
On my new machine, the site is my go-to: four columns (financial watchlist, two RSS - with nifty balloon previews, one bookmarks and tools) fit perfectly in 15″ 1440/900 and the Personal Assistant is a great window into email and other functions. Like a good spouse, it takes time and trouble to get one of these pages customized to best use, so I don’t be chasing Google’s or other skirts.
http://searchengineland.com/080620-094239.php
@23: Stephen, they make such comparisons because TechCrunch had their head up their ass on a regular basis.
If you want analysis, don’t come to this site. This site is for anti-Yahoo gossip and hilarious commentary from richie rich wannabes.
I’ve used both; my opinion is that Yahoo’s is better.
I honestly think the reason why this customization aspect hasn’t growth faster is because of the ability of people to really create a customized page that is perfect for them… I believe majority of the time people like to be spoon fed information, whether they will acknowledge this or not…. look http://www.readtheanswer.com/index.php?RTA=web2
@Stephen and Garlington
Many people still use Facebook as their homepage, even if it doesn’t offer the same features.
The key difference between the two, other than the wasted space in the middle well and forced categories along the left nav, is the ginormous “KNOW YOUR CREDIT SCORE?” ad. Nothing really “New” here other than a slight face lift, which still doesn’t change the fact that it’s ad driven. Repeat after me: A new CSS file doth not a TechCrunch story make.
The new Yahoo looks good - but I prefer MySurfPad.com over igoogle and yahoo by far as it looks better and functions better as well!!
http://www.mysurfpad.com
Why is Facebook on the graph?
I use http://www.alefo.com, chek it out!
You can simply cut any portion from a website and have it on your pesonal Alefo page. It’s new and still have some bugs but it’s look like the next generation of RSS and personal homepages. there is nothing like it, amazing!!
There’s no ad on the page anymore. My Yahoo! removed it yesterday.
If you sit down and think about it. What business does Y! really have left?
1) Search - na… its embarking on a partnership with GOOG.
2) PPC - again, see above
3) Banner Network - possibly, but not a strength (yet)
4) Content - ok, but do we need another AOL?
5) Aggregator (Homepage) - YES
While things have been sturring and MSFT has been thumping about, I believe the best move is for Y! to focus on the personalized homepage / startpage and add features and functionality that turn it more to a personalized online productivity dashboard.
This involves a series of upgrades to the my.yahoo platform.
Integrate with GOOG search and PPC
Integrate with behavioral targeting on the ecommerce side (yahoo shops - et, al).
The brand that “OWNS” the consumers primary home page becomes the higher valued brand.
Lets hope someone at Yahoo is reading this - and yes, I am available for consultation
Allan Sabo
Alti Success Strategies
Experts at Integrating Social Media and Internet Marketing
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Follow me at http://www.twitter.com/mediamanx
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I’m a pretty savvy internet user and I LOVE the new Yahoo interface! It’s like creating web pages for dummies! They do all the thinking for you. In one afternoon I organized my MacBook, iMac with a MyYahoo page that has tabs everything! I have one tabs for the news, one for my website and news feeds, a social networking tab, a job tab, entertainment and bookmarks! The coolest part is my front page checks all my email so I don’t have to open them individually. The same is true for my social tab… it opens my Facebook, LinkedIn, Naymz, ZoomInfo… all of them! I can’t say enough. The 4 hours I spent doing this yesterday just saved me an emormous amount of time!