Friday, September 12, 2008

Yahoo "Connects" Iphone users with social networks

As Yahoo's stock and reputation continues to crumble, the former search engine leader is hoping to change Iphone users' social networking habits with its OneConnect app.

Yahoo's OneConnect pitch : Save time and the hastle of sorting through windows and tabs by utilizing our app which consolidates your networks and equips you with easier access to all of your accounts. For now, those networks include: bebo,doppir,facebook,Flickr,Friendster,Myspace,Twitter and Youtube.

From the Wired article:

By expanding on a proprietary development language called Blueprint, Yahoo will also empower developers to build applications that work across most mobile devices, reports the San Francisco Gate. Apps can be accessed through Yahoo's Go mobile data service. They can also be built directly into select handhelds.

"We want to create and enable a mobile ecosystem for billions of users," said EVP Marco Boerries of Yahoo's Connected Life division. "We're turning everyone that uses voice today into a mobile data user."

Installing the OneConnnect app to my own Iphone was a simple process, however, when I tried to add my networks, I dealt with annoying glitches. It took several attempts to activate my Youtube nor Flickr accounts, and my Myspace account still wouldn't activate even after I double-checked my password entries.

Personally, when I get the itch to check my Facebook account, Yahoo doesn't even come to mind. (Despite the fact that I have OneConnect installed). Perhaps that will change with time, but for now,I'll still just click directly on facebook because it's right there in front of me, and I don't need to know about all the other activity on my other networks at the same time.  But maybe that's just me.

 While Yahoo's new application is an indication of their serious effort to impact the mobile market, I doubt the it will attract the target numbers Yahoo's hoping for. I appreciate Yahoo's Wal-Mart "one stop" approach with network consolidation, but many Iphone users already have  Facebook and Myspace apps on their homescreen, and may view OneConnect as a redundancy, unless they're avid fans the other networks available or a photographer who regularly checks Flickr.

Considering Yahoo's current financial crisis, I can understand its endeavour into the mobile market, but I'm skeptical about the OneConnect's prospect of becoming the ultimate source for social network users, because it's too little, too late.

By Matt O'Hern at 09:16 AM | Comments (0)

Post a Comment