Much was made of Yahoo’s widely publicized failure in reaching a deal to acquire Facebook, the social network that is second only to MySpace in terms of popularity and usage. Rather than focus on the past, however, Yahoo has simply decided to create it’s own social utility.
For a company that often finds itself dwelling within the enormity of Google’s shadow, Yahoo still has isolated bright spots that it can boast. Both Yahoo Finance and Brand Universes have been met with critical acclaim from analysts and praise from online communities across the Internet, but its singular most effective venture at the moment may just be Yahoo Answers.
Recently, the Answers service added some basic social features such as “starring” which generated a lot of buzz throughout the blogosphere. As the community as continued to grow and become more enthused about personal information sharing, Yahoo has stepped up to the plate and transformed its simple Q&A service into a full fledged social network.
More info on the changes from the Yahoo Search Blog:
We just added a new capability to Answers, the Yahoo! Answers Network – currently in beta, which enables you to build your own personal knowledge network. So what exactly is a knowledge network? Simply put, it enables you to directly connect with people whose knowledge you value so you can easily share knowledge and discover interesting information on topics you care about.
Wow. I like it. The whole “personal knowledge network” philosophy sits very well with me; it really gives an individual the opportunity to showcase their own unique personality in a novel way – by allowing their online buddies to see what issues and topics are most important to them.
Since making the switch to Gmail, I must admit I haven’t made use of any Yahoo services, but I must confess to you that creating an Answers profile has quickly moved to the top of the list of my online priorities. Kudos, Yahoo.
