*Yahoo! puts friendly faces front and center on Yahoo! News and IntoNow from Yahoo!, for social content discovery and expression on Yahoo! and Facebook*
SAN FRANCISCO, f8 Developer Conference, September 22, 2011 – Yahoo! Inc., the premier digital media company, today announced a new way to discover and connect with the world’s most popular content on both Yahoo! and Facebook. Beginning with Yahoo! News in the U.S., the No. 1 online news destination with more than 80 million unique monthly visitors**, and IntoNow from Yahoo!, the mobile app to discover and discuss TV shows, Yahoo! is putting people’s friends front and center to usher in an innovative way of connecting around content socially.
Image credit: Yahoo!
Today’s launch marks a new phase in Yahoo!’s relationship with Facebook and a milestone in Yahoo!’s strategy to infuse increasingly social and personalized experiences across the company’s global portfolio of premier digital media content.
“The world’s most interesting content and editorial is on Yahoo!, and now more than ever our audience looks to their friends for inspiration on what to read and watch from our vast network,” said Blake Irving, chief product officer, Yahoo!. “Through our seamless integration with Facebook, we’re promoting your friends to the status of social editors on Yahoo!, making it simple to let your friends guide you to more stories, shows, and information than ever before.”
Discover and Connect Around News and Express What You’re Into on TV
The new Yahoo! News friends’ activity feature lets people discover and connect around the news and information they are enjoying on Yahoo! seamlessly through updates on Facebook. A straightforward opt-in process launches people into the immersive social experience:
- Control What You Share – By opting-in to the new feature, people can see their Facebook friends’ and the recent articles they’ve read. People’s activity will also be featured back on their Facebook profile as it happens. It’s easy to turn it on and off and delete items.
- You on Yahoo! News – People will have a lightweight dashboard that provides a clear view into their activity.
- Your Friends’ Activity – Shows Facebook friends and what they’re reading on Yahoo! in a new “facebar” at the top of Yahoo! News.
- Your Friends’ Tab – For friends who have also opted-in, displays the articles they’ve recently viewed.
As part of the new social content experience, people will also be able to feature their TV watching activity on IntoNow from Yahoo! on their Facebook profile. This content will appear on people’s profiles under “Most Watched” and “Most Recently Watched.” People will also be able to discover new content based on their friends’ activity.
“People have been sharing links to news articles with friends on Facebook for years, and today Yahoo! is deepening its Facebook integration to make social news even more seamless,” said Ethan Beard, director platform partnerships, Facebook. “Using our new features, Yahoo! is personalizing the news experience for readers, and giving them new ways to express their favorite Yahoo! content on their Facebook profile, and discover more relevant news though friends.”
The friends’ activity feature will be incorporated into other media properties across the Yahoo! network and rolled out in additional international markets in the coming months.
For more information on the Yahoo! News friends’ activity feature, visit news.yahoo.com/activity-learn-more and our company blog, Yodel Anecdotal, at yodel.yahoo.com. For more information on IntoNow from Yahoo!, visit intonow.com.
**comScore Media Metrix, June 2011
*Source: Yahoo!