Yahoo Inc’s latest facelift will include a Facebook touch-up.
As part of changes rolling out this week, Yahoo will import personal updates from Facebook’s social network for users who want a bridge between two of the world’s most popular websites. The Facebook link will need to be turned on by each Yahoo user.
The personal updates, known as a “news feed” in Facebook’s parlance, will be available throughout Yahoo’s website, including its front page and e-mail service. Other tools will help people to automatically let their Facebook friends know what they are doing and saying on Yahoo services such as its photo-sharing site, Flickr.
Although Yahoo still commands a worldwide Internet audience of nearly 600 million, people have been hanging around for progressively shorter periods during the past few years. One of the reasons is because people increasingly congregate on Facebook to share photos, video clips and music, discuss current events and bond with their families and friends.
Yahoo is betting that more of its visitors will stay on its website if they can simultaneously monitor what’s happening on Facebook. Keeping people on its site longer would give Yahoo more opportunities to sell online ads and revive revenue growth.
Later this summer, Yahoo intends to import personal updates posted on Twitter’s short-messaging service. And by the end of the year, Yahoo will begin featuring widely played Internet games.
{{/usCountry}}Later this summer, Yahoo intends to import personal updates posted on Twitter’s short-messaging service. And by the end of the year, Yahoo will begin featuring widely played Internet games.
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