Yahoo has recently launched another weapon against Google. Yahoo’s teamed up with MSN to officially support Internet Explorer 7. When Internet Explorer 7 was released recently , Microsoft claimed it had 3 million downloads in the first 3 days of the launch. Firefox did not release any information publicly about downloads as many of Firefox’s downloads are out sourced to Google, News.com and other Technology sites.
Why would Yahoo a major Web Media giant join forces with one of it’s rivals? Simple, Internet Explorer 7 that Yahoo advertises is “optimized” with Yahoo features

- Yahoo and Yahoo News set as 2 default homepages.
- Yahoo Search as your default in built search engine on Internet Explorer.
- Plus Yahoo Toolbar.

The new Yahoo optimized Internet Explorer can be downloaded here

Will Microsoft pay Yahoo’s Publisher Network Webmasters for each download they refer? Similar to Adsense’s Firefox refer.

Yahoo recently launched it’s latest addition called Yahoo Food. The large Web Media giant is trying to make a name for it’s self with some new 2.0 “lifestyle” sites. Yahoo’s grabbed some large cooking companies and cooks such as Omni Media, Cook’s Illustrated and Reader’s Digest. Recipes can be Discussed, Rated, Downloaded and Printed. Yahoo hired the the same woman that was paid to create AOL Food.

The design is a similar to Yahoo Tech and Yahoo Health with a well complimented soft design that’s easily navigated. Yahoo said it was initially launching the site in The U.S but in 2007 has plans to expand to Australia and Europe.

Yahoo’s Recipe:

Own a large publishing company, add a bit of page rank 7, mix it slowly with owning one of the world’s largest search engines, add a bit Yahoo Directory, stir in a bit of advertising on Yahoo.com (Alexa ranking 1), then bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes and you’ve got Yahoo Food.

One of my clients is an executive coach. Building her keyword campagin tonight I discovered that the Yahoo Keyword Selector tool is no longer a spam virgin. Searching for entrepreneur yields:

entrepreneur entrepreneur entrepreneur entrepreneur internet internet internet internet ——–ntrepreneur.auto——-.com.- (I refuse to give them any more attention hence the blot out). Yes, someone might have spazzed at the Yahoo search box, but 3 variations of that 692, 662 and 647 times?

Has seach marketing gotten so incestuous that desperate authors are using the Yahoo Keyword Selector Tool to sell to me? Is there a big market among people who use that tool for buying entrepreneurial internet whatevers? That’s not guerilla advertising, that’s just litter.

Nothing is even remotely sacred. Why don’t you just tatoo your ad onto my eyelids.

On Wednesday Yahoo and Microsoft announced that they have begun a limited public beta test that allows Windows Live Messenger users and Yahoo Messenger users to send messages back and forth, as well as alert both services of online status and other information.

While the partnership presently only allows text-based messaging to be exchanged between the two systems, they do hope to add voice chat functionality in the future.

Allowing the two to work together will create the world’s largest instant messaging community of over 350 million users. 

Too bad I use neither service.  If you want to catch me on IM, you’ll have to find me on Google Talk or, rarely, AIM.  Now if those two could also find a way to get together with Yahoo and MSN, we’d have one big orgy of messengers and nearly everyone would be happy.

Yahoo! and Telemundo Network Group have forged a partnership that will blend the content of both Yahoo! and Telemundo’s Spanish-language sites into one site – Yahoo Telemundo.

Together the two will share staff and advertising revenue. The merge of the two sites puts Yahoo Telemundo in a position to rival Univision, which is currently the largest recipient of online advertising dollars.

Noting how the change will affect visitors to both sites, both companies say:

“Starting now, users of the new Yahoo! Telemundo will enjoy the online Telemundo.com programming and all of the user friendly tools of Yahoo! en español. This means that you will not only have access to our telenovelas, shows, sports and message boards, but you can also take advantage of the search engine, e-mail services, instant messenger, Yahoo! Music and all the other Yahoo! tools you already know and value.”

 

Yahoo Telemundo also plans to develop various social media tools, and provide a way for users to contribute content. This new venture aims to attract first, second, and third generation U.S. Hispanics, and will feature content in English and Spanish.

Six years ago Yahoo! applied for a patent for a person-to-person payments system, and were finally awarded the patent last month.  A spokesperson for Yahoo! says that they are “not ready to discuss” the new product at this time, although it is likely to be unveiled before the fall.

“It’s not going to be months.  Maybe a couple of weeks – I can’t say for sure,” the spokesmen said.

Few details are known about the payments system, but Yahoo! is no stranger to the P2P business having operated the PayDirect platform from 2000 to 2004.

PayPal currently dominates the P2P payments market, and Google recently incorporated a payments system into Base and Video.  Yahoo!’s system would likely compete with the two.

Experts believe that Yahoo! may integrate the payments system with their advertising, whereby users who click on ads can complete purchases using the payment system.  In turn, Yahoo! could also provide the advertisers with valuable information gained through the purchases.

One of the biggest hurdles that Yahoo! will have to overcome is how to combat and detect fraud.  It took years for PayPal to get it down, and it is something that they are constantly fighting.