Good news for Yahoo! and MSN users

In the first deal of its kind among internet competitors Yahoo and MSN Instant Messaging (IM) users from India and 14 other countries will be able to invite and chat with each other beginning from 13th July 2006. These 15 countries account for over 80 per cent of MSN and Yahoo’s joint user base of around 350 million. The other countries will be covered in a phased way since they have language issues with IMs (for instance, Japan) that need to be sorted out.

MSN has about 240 million users while Yahoo has approximately 110 million. In India, MSN and Yahoo jointly are said to account for over 70 per cent of all IM users. Some experts foresee that IM traffic will surpass email traffic over the next one year.

Yahoo users can shoot ads!

Yahoo! encouraged users to create blogs and photo pages with text and pictures. Now, it wants users to make advertisements too.

On Monday, Yahoo advertises a new look for its facade by asking people to pull out the video camera, open up the editing software and create 12-second commercials for Yahoo. There’ll be no prizes for this event. But Yahoo hopes the keenness of its customers will result in great work. The ads will be shown at video.yahoo.com.

“Advertisement by users is just enthusiastic alternative of having customers do testimonial for the site” said Yahoo Vice President Allen Olivo.

Latest finance features – Yahoo!

San Jose (US), July 17: Yahoo Inc is bringing up the finance section of its website with more interactive stock charts and other features to help it maintain its longtime lead over competitor financial information sites.

Peggy White, General Manager of Yahoo Finance said, “The redesigned web page commences today after being in progress for more than 18 months”. She also added that “It’s about laying more power in the hands of the user”.

Gone is the static, two-dimensional stock chart where scrolling elsewhere on the page was required for getting supplementary data or a diverse timeline view. Instead, users can stay on the chart itself to sight main events such as splits or dividends or drag the timeline to a preferred period. Users can also type in specific dates to create a chart and contrast the presentation of multiple equities within the same graph. They can then easily print the modified chart or send it to others via e-mail.

Google Video Goes Worldwide

Google has signed up a few partners who will supply clips for its hatchling Video Service.

The deals mean that visitors will be able to watch Wimbledon matches, documentaries and sitcoms via the Google video site. The partners have been signed up as Google starts on eight new versions of the clip-sharing site. France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and Canada now have national versions.

The deals with the series of partners are planned to entice people to visit the Google site and get them watching. Those posting video to the site, whether they are movie makers or amateurs, can make a decision whether to charge for the clips. To help pay for the site Google runs adverts beside videos that is posted.

Yahoo! Stands First for Communication. Says survey

A recent survey done in India showed that Yahoo! has emerged India’s leading online brand in communication, 35% of the respondents evoke it as the initial website that comes to their intellect. This survey was done on the basis of 20,000 responses from the internet users and 5,500 responses from a land survey to make the findings more representative and interesting. Yahoo! was placed on the top as ‘Communication Portal’ and Google as ‘King Of Information’.

Two new and forthcoming categories in which sustained growth is expected are mobile content and financial content. In this, Yahoo! and Google are second and third with 11 per cent and 10 percent share.

Google Maps Alters the Mode It Zooms

Google Maps received a set of glossy new features today, accessible to both Google Maps and the API users. Updates to the service comprise double-click to zoom, incessant zoom and some latest tabs below the search box.

There have been three tabs updated.The three tabs are “Search the map”, “Find businesses” and “Get directions” are in a new tab format as seen in the picture above.

Google Refused To Reveal Advertiser Information

Google has been ordered to reveal the identity of one of its advertisers. The High Court has issued the decision to assist a potential copyright breach case.

Google had refused to reveal the identity of the advertiser to Helen Grant, who had protested that a Google advert led to a service which she claimed desecrated her copyright in an impending book. Google did not give the information, but the firm did counsel Grant to look for the High Court order forcing it to obey.

Rimer the Justice never heard the reason behind google refusing and made a statement that “it was because of an apparent duty of privacy to advertisers”.

Google Turns Out To Be A Verb

Very rapidly the term “google” has entered in common dialect. The word is so widely used that the Oxford English Dictionary added Google as a verb to its online edition. Few days before even Merriam-Webster added “google” (without the capital “G”) as a general term, meaning “to use the Google search engine to get information on the World Wide Web”.

When Editor Peter Sokolowski of Merriam Webster Associate was asked the reason behind adding this word he said “It’s a consequence of us finding the word used in print so frequently that we feel it’s appropriate to add it in our dictionary”.

Google Earth doubts ISRO chief, seeks conversation

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO – New Delhi) head has expressed worry at high resolution satellite pictures displayed by Google and said authorities should hold a conversation with it over the display of imagery of some of the country’s sensitive places. Google Earth, a website launched by the Internet search engine last year, permits users to view the satellite snaps.

When Mr. Nair was asked ‘How Google can be stopped from displaying images of sensitive locations?’ he said “We need to have a discussion with them, persuade them that in the global interest, particularly in the security environment we are facing today, we should not be putting fine details on a public domain.”

Several governments, counting South Korea and Thailand, have expressed alike anxiety.

Hawking Look for Answers on Human Race on Yahoo!

Stephen Hawking famous British astrophysicist and best-selling author has turned to Yahoo Answers, a new trait in which anyone can post a query for fellow Internet users and can get numerous views. By Friday afternoon, nearly 17,000 Yahoo Inc. users had responded.

Hawking’s question was “In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?”

Some of the answers were petite “get rid of nuclear weapons” and others vague “Somehow we will.” Many were doubtful: “I don’t think it is possible unless we expand into space”. A number of people suggested “thinking differently, ending bickering or fostering cooperation”.

Hawking is one of 10 personality questioners Yahoo has put on as part of its “Ask The Planet” campaign.