Yahoo extends deadline for opening bids: report

SAN FRANCISCO, California – Yahoo has given prospective buyers an added week to make preliminary bids for the company’s core assets, tech news website Re/Code reported on Friday.

The struggling Internet pioneer has been briefing prospective buyers, according to US media reports that indicated the list of suitors included telecommunications titan Verizon, Google-parent Alphabet, and Time Inc.

The deadline for initial offers was reportedly extended from Monday to April 18, a day before California-based Yahoo releases earnings figures for the first three months of this year.

Re/Code attributed the information to unnamed sources close to the situation and “blabby bankers they talk to.”

Yahoo declined to comment on the report.

In letters to potential suitors, the troubled Internet company asked them what assets they were interested in, how they would finance such acquisitions and what terms would have to be met on their end, the Wall Street Journal reported last month, quoting people familiar with the matter.

The paper said some buyers might be interested in Yahoo’s core web business or parts of it, while others might bid for stakes in Alibaba or Yahoo Japan.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who took over in 2012 with the mission of boosting growth, is in an increasingly difficult position.

Although Yahoo is one of the best-known names on the Internet and is used by around one billion people, it has fallen behind Google in Internet searches and has been steadily losing ground in online advertising.

Ironically, Mayer joined Yahoo as chief executive from Google a result of a proxy war launched by an activist investor group.

While Mayer has injected some energy and glamor into the company, Yahoo’s finances have failed to improve and its core operations are valued in the market as worthless, with the company’s valuation propped up by its stakes in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan.

In February, Yahoo said it was cutting 15 percent of its workforce and narrowing its focus as it explores “strategic alternatives.”

The California company reported a loss of $4.43 billion in the final three months of last year, due mostly to lowering the value of its US, Canada, Europe, Latin America and Tumblr units.

source: interaksyon.com

Yahoo! grabs for Android smartphone homescreen

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo! on Monday ramped up its move to mobile, grabbing for Android smartphone home screens with an Aviate application tuned to where people are.

Yahoo bought Aviate early this year in a deal reported to be valued at about $80 million dollars. The software was subsequently honed with a test group.

An English language version of Aviate for handsets powered by Google-backed Android software made its global debut on Monday, in a move to give new prominence to Yahoo on the smartphone.

“We created Aviate to connect you with the information you need at the moment it’s useful,” Aviate founder and Yahoo product manager Mark Daiss said in a Tumblr post.

“Yahoo Aviate simplifies everything about your phone.”

The Aviate application available at Google Play online shop is touted as creating an “intelligent home screen” that serves up applications or information based on where users are and what they might be most interested in a given moment.

“It starts with a clean, new layout and apps automatically organized for you,” Daiss said.

“But it’s not just about making your phone simpler — Aviate also makes your phone smarter by offering intelligent information throughout your day.”

Showcasing content

The Aviate release comes as part of a campaign by Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer to revitalize the faded Internet firm as a premier digital content company at the heart of people’s daily routines in the mobile age.

“At the end of the day, Yahoo! is trying to be a content site again; really connect you back to the content you want to read, watch, and enjoy,” said analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.

“It is like next-generation TV on steroids.”

To succeed, Yahoo needs to seize control of smartphone screens and put its content, along with money-making advertising, at the center of experiences on mobile devices, according to the analyst.

Online retail titan Amazon last week made a move in the same direction by unveiling “Fire” smartphone infused with software tightly tied to its online offerings.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos unveiled the device, Amazon’s first smartphone of its own, which has a 4.7-inch display, a high-definition camera and Amazon’s free help service.

The phone also ties in to Amazon’s vast array of other offerings, serving as a platform for digital content such as books, films and music and connecting users to the firm’s cloud storage.

“Amazon is doing exactly what Yahoo wants to do, but with their own devices,” Enderle said.

Amazon’s tactic sidesteps potential bumps that might be put in Yahoo’s path by carriers, handset makers, and Android-backer Google when it comes to vying for control of smartphone home screens.

“If Yahoo does get a beach head, it is unlikely they can hold it; and getting that beach head is going to be difficult to begin with,” Enderle said.

Building a news team

Yahoo has been shedding its online search engine past in favor of a future as a venue for premier digital content and services, particularly aimed at smartphones and tablet computers.

Yahoo has also been investing in original programming. US media reported on Monday that Yahoo! has added former NBC News investigative reporter Michael Isikoff to its lineup.

“Yahoo! is trying to build out a news program,” Enderle said. “They are hand picking people who they think can bring them an audience.”

Yahoo! in January enlisted news, music and television stars for the launch of online magazines focused on technology and food.

In May, the Sunnyvale, California-based firm launched an online magazine for film lovers.

source: interaksyon.com

Marian Rivera leads nominees for Yahoo! Celebrity Awards

Once again, 2013 Celebrity of the Year Marian Rivera is the nominee to beat in the 2014 Yahoo! Celebrity Awards (formerly Yahoo! OMG Awards). The actress dubbed as TV’s Primetime Queen is considered a frontrunner in several categories where she is nominated.

During a program hosted by radio and TV host Sam Oh at Amber Ultra Lounge at The Fort Entertainment Center in Taguig City, Yahoo! Philippines country manager and country editor Kate de los Reyes and deputy country sales director Mike Constantino announced this year’s nominees for the annual entertainment awards determined exclusively by fans.

Marian is again nominated by Yahoo! readers for Celebrity of the Year, Actress of the Year and in the newly created Celebrity Couple of the Year together with reel and real life partner Dingdong Dantes. Their DongYanatics are also nominated for Fan Club of the Year.

In addition to these categories, Marian also won outright the Yahoo! Media Magnet of the Year, an award given to Charice last year.

Aside from Marian, a good number of last year’s winners are nominated anew in their respective categories. They are Coco Martin (Actor of the Year), Angel Locsin (Actress of the Year), Elmo Magalona (Male Performer of the Year), Julie Anne San Jose (Female Performer of the Year), Ryzza Mae Dizon (Child Star of the Year), Vic Sotto (Male TV Host), Toni Gonzaga (Female TV Host), Papa Jack (Male Radio DJ), Nicole Hyala (Female Radio DJ), Barangay LS 97.1 (Best FM Station) and “TV Patrol” (Best News Program).

The stars and shows of TV5 also figured prominently among the 140 nominees including Vin Abrenica (Male Emerging Star), Vic Sotto and Raymond Gutierrez (Male TV Host), “For Love or Money” (Teleserye of the Year) and “Aksyon TV” (Best News Program).

The name is not the only thing that changed in the Yahoo! Celebrity Awards. Of the 28 categories, 10 of them are new categories that Yahoo! Drumbeaters say reflect the emerging trends in the entertainment industry.

These categories are Celebrity Couple, Celebrity Family, Male and Female Hothletes, Band of the Year, Male and Female ‘Kontrabida’, Emerging Band, Song of the Year and Social Media Star.

What also makes the Yahoo Celebrity Awards more special this year is the newly introduced Yahoo-On-the-Road bus, which will be touring schools to showcase the nominees for the Band of the Year and Emerging Band categories. The bus is fully geared for fans to engage with the bands, cast their votes and request performances.

As in previous years, winners will again be determined by fans who visit yahoo.com.ph/celebrityawards to cast their votes not only for the announced categories but also for celebrities that they want to perform during the awards night scheduled at the MOA Arena on July 18.

Voting is now open until July 12, 2014. Users can follow the awards on Twitter at @yahooph #YahooAwards and “Like” the Yahoo Philippines Facebook page.

“The Yahoo Celebrity Awards honors not only the Pinoy stars but also the fans who propel them to stardom. We put the fans front and center because they fuel the engine of the entertainment industry. In the last three years, Celebrity Awards has earned overwhelming response from the audience, a testament to how much we Filipinos love our celebrities,” quipped De los Reyes.

The Yahoo Celebrity Awards supported by leading brands in Philippines, including McDonald’s, KakaoTalk, PLDT HOME Bro Ultera, JAG Jeans and Emperador Light. Fans can get free tickets for the July 18 awards show at SM Tickets.

Here are the complete nominees:
1. Celebrity of the Year
Kathryn Bernardo
Kim Chiu
Sarah Geronimo
Marian Rivera
Megan Young

2. Celebrity Couple (NEW)
Angel Locsin and Luis Manzano
Angelica Panganiban and John Lloyd Cruz
Bea Alonzo and Zanjoe Marudo
Bea Binene and Jake Vargas
Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes

3. Celebrity Family (NEW)
Barretto
Eigenmann
Gutierrez
Magalona
Padilla

4. Social Media Star (NEW)
Kris Aquino
Ramon Bautista
Anne Curtis
Vice Ganda
Team Kramer

5. Actor of the Year
John Lloyd Cruz
Dingdong Dantes
Coco Martin
Piolo Pascual
Dennis Trillo

6. Actress of the Year
Carla Abellana
Kim Chiu
Toni Gonzaga
Angel Locsin
Marian Rivera

7. Male Emerging Star
Vin Abrenica
Nash Aguas
Kristofer Martin
Rocco Nacino
JC De Vera

8. Female Emerging Star
Julia Barretto
Louise delos Reyes
Janine Gutierrez
Jessy Mendiola
Janella Salvador

9. Male Kontrabida (NEW)
Paolo Contis (Villa Quintana)
Jake Cuenca (Ikaw Lamang)
Ryan Eigenmann (Kambal Sirena)
John Estrada (Ikaw Lamang)
TJ Trinidad (My Neighbor’s Wife)

10. Female Kontrabida (NEW)
Kaye Abad (Annaliza)
Andi Eigenmann (Dysebel)
Jennylyn Mercado (Rhodora X)
Jackie Rice (Innamorata)
Maja Salvador (Legal Wife)

11. Love Team
Jennylyn Mercado and Mark Herras (Jennylyn-Mark)
Kathyn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla (KathNiel)
Sharlene San Pedro and Nash Aguas (Sharlene-Nash)
Tom Rodriguez and Dennis Trillo (Tom- Den)
Vice Ganda and Karylle Tatlonghari (ViceRylle)

12. Child Star
Andrea Brillantes (Annaliza)
Ryzza Mae Dizon
Raikko Mateo (Honesto)
David Remo (Binoy Henyo)
James “Bimby” Yap

13. Male TV Host
Raymond Gutierrez
Jose Manalo
Luis Manzano
Vhong Navarro
Vic Sotto

14. Female TV Host
Kris Aquino
Heart Evangelista
Toni Gonzaga
Pauleen Luna
Karylle Tatlonghari

15. Fan Club of the Year
DongYanatics (Marian-Dingdong fans)
Kathniel (Kathryn-Daniel fans)
KimXi (Kim-Xian fans)
Little Ponies (Vice Ganda fans)
Popstars (Sarah Geronimo fans)

16. Teleserye of the Year
Carmela (GMA)
For Love or Money (TV5)
Got to Believe (ABS-CBN)
Ikaw Lamang (ABS-CBN)
Legal Wife (ABN-CBN)

17. News Program
24 Oras (GMA)
AKSYON (TV5)
Bandila (ABS-CBN)
State of the Nation with Jessica Soho (GMA News TV)
TV Patrol (ABS-CBN)

18. Movie of the Year
Bride for Rent (Star Cinema)
Diary ng Panget: The Movie (Viva Films)
So It’s You (Regal Films)
Starting Over Again (Star Cinema)
When the Love is Gone (Viva Films)

19. Male Hothlete (NEW)
Arnold Van Opstal
Kiefer Ravena
Jeron and Jeric Teng
Chris Tiu
Phil Younghusband

20. Female Hothlete (NEW)
Rachelle Anne Daquis
Denden Lazaro
Michelle Gumabao
Gretchen Ho
Tin Patrimonio

21. Male Performer
Bamboo
Christian Bautista
Mark Bautista
Elmo Magalona
Daniel Padilla

22. Female Performer
Yeng Constantino
Klarisse De Guzman
Sarah Geronimo
Angeline Quinto
Julie Anne San Jose

23. Band of the Year (NEW)
Parokya Ni Edgar
Slapshock
Sponge Cola
Up Dharma Down
WilaBaliw

24. Emerging Band (NEW)
Brison
Chocolate Grass
Jeffrey Zulueta Experience
The Cheats
Yolanda Moon

25. Song of the Year (NEW)
Bakit Ngayon (Julie Anne San Jose)
Carousel (Bamboo)
Chinito (Yeng Constantino)
Hanggang Kailan Kita Mamahalin (Angeline Quinto)
Magda (Gloc-9)

26. FM Radio Station
Barangay LS 97.1
91.5 Big Radio
Energy FM 106.7
90.7 Love Radio
MOR 101.9

27. Male DJ
Chico Garcia (RX 93.1)
Chris Tsuper (Love Radio 90.7)
Mr. Fu (106.7 Energy FM)
Papa Jack (Love Radio 90.7)
Sam YG, Slick Rick and Tony Toni (Magic 89.9)

28. Female DJ
Delamar (RX 93.1)
DJ Chacha (MOR 101.1)
DJ Megan (93.9 iFM)
Nicole Hyala (Love Radio 90.7)
Sam Oh (Magic 89.9)

source: interaksyon.com

Miley Cyrus tops Yahoo’s 2013 searches, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis dominate Spotify

LOS ANGELES | Pop singer Miley Cyrus and the trial of boyfriend-killer Jodi Arias dominated Yahoo’s online searches in 2013, the web search engine said on Tuesday, while rapper-producer duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis dominated music streams on Spotify.

Cyrus, 21, generated the most overall searches on Yahoo this year, overtaking reality television personality Kim Kardashian, who topped the list last year.

Cyrus has had an attention-filled 2013, in which she grabbed headlines for her breakup with actor-fiance Liam Hemsworth, danced provocatively on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards in August, and released her new album “Bangerz” in October.

The murder trial of 33-year-old Arias, who was found guilty in May of killing her boyfriend Travis Alexander at his Phoenix-area home, captivated the public over five months with bizarre testimony and graphic sexual evidence, helping it become the most searched news item on Yahoo.

Arias’ trial was followed on Yahoo by the Affordable Care Act and its common name “Obamacare,” which were counted as one search term, as the second most-searched news story, while the Boston Marathon bombing in April came in third.

President Barack Obama was the top-searched political figure, topping ailing Nelson Mandela, the former South African president, at No. 2, and former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin at No. 3.

While Cyrus topped Yahoo’s overall searches, R&B singer Beyonce topped Microsoft’s Bing search engine as the most-searched person, while Kardashian’s first child, daughter North West she had with rapper Kanye West, topped Ask.com’s top celebrity search terms.

Online music-streaming site Spotify also released its 2013 year in review on Tuesday and named Seattle’s rapper-producer duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis as the year’s most-streamed artist.

The pair have seen their career skyrocket this year as their debut album “The Heist” spawned hit singles “Thrift Shop,” “Same Love” and “Can’t Hold Us,” which was the most-streamed single.

Shazam, the music-identifying online app, also named Macklemore & Ryan Lewis as its most “Shazamed” artist, with 11.7 million tags throughout the year. R&B singer Rihanna came second with 8.4 million tags. She was also named Spotify’s most-streamed female artist for a second consecutive year.

source: interaksyon.com

New Yahoo! logo debuts

SAN FRANCISCO--Yahoo late Wednesday updated its logo with slimmer letters but kept the trademark purple color and exclamation point.

"We wanted a logo that stayed true to our roots (whimsical, purple, with an exclamation point) yet embraced the evolution of our products," Yahoo chief marketing officer Kathy Savitt said in a Tumblr blog post.



The updated logo comes as the Internet pioneer continues a quest to re-invent itself after being eclipsed by Google in the world of online search.

The faded Internet star's new symbol has been redesigned to better reflect what the company aims to be under chief executive Marissa Mayer, according to Savitt.

She said that Yahoo will also be keeping its "famous yodel."

Since former Google executive Mayer became boss at Yahoo early last year, the California company has snapped up more than 20 startups including the billion-dollar buy of blog platform Tumblr.

Mayer's plan for reviving Yahoo's fortunes includes making priorities of mobile devices, video, personalized digital content, and elevating the company's popularity outside the United States.

"While the company is rapidly evolving, our logo - the essence of our brand - should too," Savitt said.

To build excitement about the change of the well-known purple logo, Yahoo will tease US visitors with variations on the theme daily leading up to the unveiling.

source: interaksyon.com

Yahoo buys web-browsing startup Rocketmelt

SAN FRANCISCO - Yahoo on Friday said it bought social web-browsing startup Rockmelt, extending a buying spree started shortly after Marissa Mayer became chief last year.

Yahoo did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, but technology news website AllThingsD valued the purchase at between $60 million and $70 million.

"The team has built a simple and beautiful technology that combines social, personalization and discovery to help you not only find what you're looking for, but also stumble across some cool stuff along the way," Yahoo senior vice president of mobile Adam Cahan said in a blog post.

Rockmelt launched in 2010 with Internet browsing software imbued with social features, such as sharing at Facebook or Twitter.

Buying Rockmelt was seen as a talent acquisition, with Yahoo weaving the startup's technology into its own products.

"The parallels between Yahoo and Rockmelt are obvious," Cahan said in the blog post.

"We can't wait to integrate the Rockmelt technology into our platform."

The Rockmelt buy comes just days after Yahoo snapped up a company specializing in software applications that help small businesses attract and service customers.

It also raises to 21 the total number of acquisitions made by Yahoo since Mayer took the helm a year ago with a mission to revive the withering Internet pioneer.

Yahoo's growing list of acquisitions includes Qwiki, a New York operation behind an application that converts video and pictures on iPhones into sharable movie clips complete with music soundtracks.

Yahoo has also bought Xobni, a startup behind tools for better managing contact lists and email inboxes, and Bignoggins Productions, a one-person operation specializing in fantasy sports applications for iPhones.

Yahoo in June completed a billion-dollar deal taking over the popular blogging platform Tumblr, a move aimed at bringing more youthful users into the company's orbit.

Since former Google executive Mayer became chief at Yahoo, the company has snapped up an array of startups including GhostBird, Alike, Stamped, Snip.it, and a Summly application built by a British teen.

Mayer's plan for reviving Yahoo's fortunes includes making priorities of mobile devices, video, personalized digital content, and elevating the company's popularity outside the United States.

source: interaksyon.com

Yahoo! wins case vs Yaahoo biscuit

MANILA, Philippines -- Internet portal Yahoo! Inc. has won its case before the Court of Appeals against a biscuit company that supposedly used its trademark name "Yaahoo" in its food products.

In an 11-page ruling written by Associate Justice Franchito Diamante and concurred in by Associate Justices Ricardo Rosario and Melchor Sadang, the CA's Special 15th Division denied the petition for review filed by Valenzuela City-based Sam Lim Corporation questioning the ruling dated January 9, 2012 of the Office of the Director General of the Intellectual Property Office against the biscuit company.

Yahoo! opposed SLC's application for registration of the trademark "Yaahoo" under classification for goods before the IPO which covers biscuits and other food products.

The American multinational internet corporation argued SLC's "Yaahoo" is confusingly similar to its well-known trademark "Yahoo!".

The SLC intends to register "Yaahoo" for its peanut butter products.

The IPO's Director of the Bureau of Legal Affairs sustained on Jan. 16, 2008 Yahoo's opposition holding that the two, Yahoo! and Yaahoo, are visually and aurally similar.

The SLC sought reconsideration but was denied, prompting it to elevate the case to the CA.

However, the CA said the SLC's petition lacks merit.

It said "[Yahoo!] was able to present overwhelming evidence proving that it is the true owner and prior user of the mark Yahoo! And that it has passed the criteria laid down in Rule 102 of the IPO's Rules and Regulations on trademarks, among others."

source: interaksyon.com

British teenage whiz strikes deal with Yahoo

LONDON (AP) — One of Britain's youngest Internet entrepreneurs has hit the jackpot after selling his top-selling mobile application Summly to search giant Yahoo.

Seventeen-year-old Nick d'Aloisio, who dreamed up the idea for the content-shortening program when he was studying for his exams, said he was surprised by the deal. As with its other recent acquisitions, Yahoo didn't disclose how much it is paying for Summly, although British newspapers suggested the deal's value at several million dollars.

"I would have never imagined being in this position so suddenly," he wrote on his website, before thanking his family, his school — and his venture capitalist backer Li Ka-Shing — for supporting him.

Summly works by condensing content so readers can scroll through more information more quickly — useful for the small screens of smartphones.

The deal announced Monday is Yahoo's fifth small acquisition in the past five months. All of them have been part of CEO Marissa Mayer's effort to attract more engineers with expertise in building services for smartphones and tablet computers, an increasingly important area of technology that she believes the Internet company had been neglecting.

Although the Yahoo acquisition won't close until later this spring, D'Aloisio said the Summly will no longer be available. Summly's technology will return in other Yahoo products, he said.


D'Aloisio will work for Yahoo in its London office — in part so that he can complete his high school exams. Two other Summly workers will join Yahoo at its Sunnyvale, California, headquarters.

D'Aloisio is younger than Yahoo, which was incorporated in March 1995.

source: philstar.com

Yahoo! to shut down seven products, including Blackberry app

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo! Inc is shutting down seven products, including its mobile app for Blackberry smartphones, as new Chief Executive Marissa Mayer takes a page from Google Inc’s play book by eliminating unsuccessful products en-masse.

The product shutdowns, which Yahoo! announced on its official company blog on Friday, are part of what the company said are regular efforts to evaluate and review its product line-up.

“The most critical question we ask is whether the experience is truly a daily habit that still resonates for all of you today,” wrote Jay Rossiter, Yahoo!’s executive vice president of Platforms.

The announcement represents Yahoo!’s second group shutdown of products since Mayer, a former Google executive, became CEO of the struggling Web portal in July. So-called “spring cleaning” announcements, in which multiple products are shut down, have become a regular feature at Google in recent years.

Mayer signaled the company would prune its line-up of mobile apps at an investor conference last month, noting that Yahoo! would reduce the 60 to 75 disparate mobile apps it currently has to a more manageable 12 to 15 apps.

Yahoo! said its app for Blackberry smartphones would no longer be available for download, or supported by Yahoo!, as of April 1.

Yahoo! also said that on April 1 it will stop supporting Yahoo! Avatars – the cartoon-like digital characters that consumers create to depict them on Web services such as Yahoo instant messenger and Facebook. Consumers who want to continue using their avatar on Yahoo!’s online services must download the avatar and then re-upload the information to their personalized Yahoo! profile.

The other Yahoo! products set to be terminated include Yahoo! App Search, Yahoo! Sports IQ, Yahoo! Clues, the Yahoo! Message Boards website and the Yahoo! Updates API.

source: interaksyon.com

Yahoo! fuels fresh debate on telecommuting

WASHINGTON — Telecommuting, a growing trend in the US workplace, is coming under fresh scrutiny following news that Yahoo! is curbing the practice.

The trend of working from home has been gaining steam for decades, as part of a workplace evolution which allows greater family-work balance and saves energy and commuting costs.

An internal Yahoo! memo from chief executive Marissa Meyer posted this week by the Wall Street Journal said employees will be required to come to their offices to “feel the energy and buzz” of the workplace.

“Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together,” according to the report.

Asked about the memo, a Yahoo! spokesman said Tuesday, “We don’t discuss internal matters,” but essentially confirmed the news by saying: “This isn’t a broad industry view on working from home — this is about what is right for Yahoo!, right now.”

The shift counters the overall trend: some 53 percent of US employers offered flexible work options in 2012, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. That compares with 48 percent in 2007.

A 2011 report by the US Labor Department found 24 percent of employed Americans reporting that they work at least some hours at home each week.

The trend is particularly noticeable in IT firms, where companies take advantage of technology to have virtual access to what they would have at the office.

Cisco Systems, which develops virtual private networks for remote access, said 40 percent of its employees are not in the same city as their manager, and the average employee telecommutes two days a week.

IBM, another strong telework advocate, said 29 percent of its 128,000 employees participate in a flex-work or work at home program, and that in 2011, in the US alone, this saved 6.4 million gallons of fuel and avoided more than 50,000 metric tons of carbon emissions.

The move by Yahoo! “goes against the grain of where a lot of organizations are going today,” said Cindy Auten, general manager of Mobile Work Exchange, a public-private partnership that promotes telework.

“This is especially important in the tech industry; they are focused on recruiting and retaining the best and brightest.”

Auten said telework is “a huge recruitment and retention tool,” seen as a near necessity at some firms now, with the option offered in 85 percent of the employers rated as “best places to work.”

She said telecommuting often improves productivity, but that in cases where it fails, “it may uncover other weaknesses” in an organization.

The Yahoo! decision drew criticism from others, including Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, who said in a tweet: “Perplexed by Yahoo! stopping remote working. Give people the freedom of where to work & they will excel.”

Kelly Ann Collins, a Washington marketing consultant who blogs on work and family issues, called the Yahoo! move confusing.

“High-tech companies like Yahoo! that are completely digital have the ability to make the lives of their employees so much better,” she wrote.

“Telecommuting is not only efficient, it is better for team morale and employee retention. It makes for happier employees that (actually like to) produce top-notch work.”

But some analysts say Yahoo!’s move could be positive, even if it drives away those seeking a more flexible environment.

“Yahoo! is in a creative innovation race and they need to get back to their roots,” said John Challenger, chief executive of the consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

“There are great benefits to telecommuting, and there are more companies that need to do more telecommuting, but (Yahoo!) is a case where they are seeking to pull themselves out from a position where they have been behind the curve.”

Even before the Yahoo! news, some data suggested telecommuting was not the panacea it was cracked up to be.

The Labor Department report found that telecommuters often ended up working more hours than if they had come into the office, effectively doing overtime work without compensation.

“The ability of employees to work at home may actually allow employers to raise expectations for work availability during evenings and weekends and foster longer workdays and workweeks,” the report said.

But Challenger said Yahoo! will not be able to turn back the clock completely, and that some employees are likely to do some of their work from home, despite the new policy,

“Some people have always worked from home,” he said. “And now technology allows them to work on the weekends, at night or on vacation. There is no boundary between work and home anymore.”

source: interaksyon.com

Looking for love? ‘Valentine’s Day’ tops Yahoo!’s list of searches for the day

MANILA, 14 February, 2013—Love is in the air and Yahoo! Search Trends shows that Filipinos are indeed the among the most romantic people in the world. Clicking their way to be in the mood for love or to celebrate with their special someone, Filipinos looked for ‘love month’ the most number of times via the popular search engine.

Interestingly, February, the month of love, also triggered searches for ‘p pop love songs’, the popular songwriting competition Himig Handog, which were the second most searched on Yahoo!. ‘Valentine messages for someone special’ featured third on the list as users looked for special ways to express their affection. Even the meaning of ‘true love’ came up as being one of the top 5 searches, featuring fourth on the list while ‘february quotes’ ended fifth.

1. Love month
2. P pop love songs
3. Valentine messages for someone special
4. True love
5. February quotes

Among other searches included ‘valentine’s bouquets’ and ‘valentine’s gifts’ by users who were looking for traditional ideas to celebrate the month of love while searches for ‘a love song lyrics’ and ‘crazy stupid love’ remained high, strongly attesting Pinoy love for music as a way of wooing the hearts of their loved ones. As expected Valentine’s day wouldn’t be complete without searches on chocolates, heart, e-cards, cupcakes and romance.

6. Valentine’s bouquet
7. Valentine’s gifts
8. February love month
9. Happy hearts day
10. A love song lyrics

source: interaksyon.com

Yahoo! buys scrapbook website Snip.it

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo! confirmed Tuesday that it bought Snip.it, a young San Francisco startup that lets people create scrapbooks with pictures, articles, videos and other content found online.

“The Snip.it team created an innovative technology that lets people share content in a social and fun way,” Yahoo! vice president of product Mike Kerns said in a statement emailed to AFP.






“Reading and sharing content is a core daily habit for most of the world, and we can’t wait to work with the Snip.it team to make that experience even more entertaining for our users.”

A message posted at Snip.it told users it was “joining forces” with Yahoo! and that the service was no longer available. A link was provided to a hall of fame honoring top Snip.it contributors.

“For the past year and a half, we’ve worked tirelessly as a team to build the best social news platform on the Web,” Snip.it said in the message.

“We are thrilled at the opportunity to bring Snip.it’s vision to a larger scale at Yahoo!”

Snip.it launched in late 2011 as a place where people could share digital “scrapbooks” based on topics or themes of their choosing.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed but unconfirmed online reports estimated the figure to be in the vicinity of $15 million.

source: interaksyon.com

Yahoo!’s Mayer taps former Google colleague for COO

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo! Inc hired Henrique de Castro, a Google Inc executive, to be its chief operating officer, the latest move by Yahoo! Chief Executive Marissa Mayer to build a new management team at the struggling Web company.

De Castro, who will oversee Yahoo’s global sales, operations, media and business development, will be eligible for a whopping $58 million total compensation package, according to an SEC filing by Yahoo! on Monday.

Yahoo! said that de Castro would receive $600,000 in annual base salary, as well as a $36 million in restricted stock units and stock options as a one-time retention award, among other parts of his compensation package.

De Castro will start at Yahoo! by January 22, the company said. If de Castro, who the technology blog AllThingsD.com said was born in Portugal, has not obtained a work visa prior to his official start date he will initially work in London for a Yahoo subsidiary, the company said.

Mayer, a former Google executive who joined Yahoo! as CEO in July, in a statement cited de Castro’s experience in Internet advertising and his work “structuring and scaling global organizations.”

The 37-year-old Mayer, who gave birth to her first child on September 30, also announced the hiring of de Castro with a Twitter message in which she noted that Monday was her first full day back in the office.

Yahoo! is one of the world’s most-visited online properties, but revenue has declined in recent years amid competition from Google and Facebook Inc. Yahoo! has also been beset by internal turmoil that has resulted in a revolving door of CEOs. The surprise appointment of Mayer in July made her Yahoo!’s third chief in about 12 months.

Mayer has yet to reveal her plan for revitalizing Yahoo, but has made a few key hires, including new finance chief Ken Goldman and marketing head Kathy Savitt, a former Amazon.com executive.

De Castro is currently vice president of Google’s worldwide partners business solutions group, overseeing advertising services for the company’s publisher and commerce partners.

Shares of Yahoo!, which reports third-quarter results on October 22, were up 7 cents at $15.75 in after-hours trading on Monday. The shares fell 1.3 percent to $15.68 during the regular session.

source: interaksyon.com

400,000 Yahoo! user names, passwords stolen, published on the Web

BOSTON — More than 400,000 Yahoo Inc user names and passwords were stolen and published on the Web, putting other websites at risk as well, after hackers exploited a vulnerability in Yahoo!’s computer systems.

Some logins for Google Inc, AOL Inc and Microsoft Corp services were among those compromised. The three companies said they required affected users to reset passwords for sites including Gmail, AOL, Hotmail, MSN and Live.com.

Yahoo issued a statement apologizing for the breach, the latest setback for a company that has lost two chief executives in a year and is struggling to revive stalled revenue growth.

Chairman Alfred Amoroso acknowledged that Yahoo had experienced a “tumultuous” year at its annual shareholder meeting on Thursday morning. Interim CEO Ross Levinsohn told attendees he was optimistic about the company’s progress.

The breach prompted criticism from security experts who said that a major Internet firm like Yahoo should do a better job at protecting user data.

“This points to some very lax security practices,” said Rob D’Ovidio, associate professor of criminal justice at Drexel University.

As an example, he noted that the hackers were able to produce more than 400,000 cleartext passwords within a day. That indicates that Yahoo either did not encrypt them at all or used an encryption method that was easy to crack, he said.

The professional networking service LinkedIn recently came under similar criticism. Security experts chided the company for failing to use sophisticated encryption practices to secure its passwords, millions of which were released following a breach last month.

What happened?

Yahoo! spokeswoman Dana Lengkeek said “an older file” had been stolen from Yahoo! Contributor Network, an Internet publishing service that Yahoo! purchased about two years ago. It helps writers, photographers and videographers to sell their work over the Web.

“We are fixing the vulnerability that led to the disclosure of this data, changing the passwords of the affected Yahoo! users and notifying the companies whose users’ accounts may have been compromised,” she said.

AOL said the Yahoo data published on the Web included valid passwords for 1,699 accounts. Microsoft and Google declined to provide similar numbers.

Other firms whose customers were at risk include Comcast Corp, Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T, Rapid7 researcher Marcus Carey said. He estimated that tens of thousands of accounts of users of services other than Yahoo were affected by the breach.

AT&T and Verizon did not have any immediate comment. Officials with Comcast could not be reached.

AOL Senior Vice President David Temkin said spammers typically use credentials like the ones stolen from Yahoo to break into email accounts and use them to send out spam.

“In this case, I think we actually got ahead of it before the people who stole those accounts were able to use them,” Temkin said.

The five most popular passwords in the group were “123456″, “password”, “welcome”, “qwerty” and “ninja”, according to an analysis by anti-virus software maker ESET.

source: interaksyon.com

Yahoo and Clear Channel Forge Digital Radio Partnership

Yahoo and Clear Channel have anounced a distribution and cross-promotional deal.

As part of the multi-year agreement, Yahoo will begin using Clear Channel's iHeartRadio platform as its digital radio service and the station will promote both companies' content. In addition, the new joint venture will offer exclusive access to various concert series and other music events, including the two-day iHeartRadio Music Festival in September at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

This is the first agreement between the two giants.

According to Clear Channel CEO Bob Pittman, the deal was forged after Yahoo's interim CEO Ross Levinsohn suggested it.

"We were thrilled when Ross approached us about this partnership," said Pittman in a statement. "We like the direction Yahoo! is going and by working together we can accelerate growth for the both of us."

Yahoo has recently been forging content relationships with the likes of ABC News and CNBC and has indicated a newfound focus on its online ad business for its media properties.

"This partnership will expand our ability to provide consumers and advertisers with the best premium content available and provide Clear Channel with unmatched digital reach," says Levinsohn.

Clear Channel, the biggest player in terrestrial radio, has been looking to bolster its digital business. Most notably, the company signed a pathbreaking deal with the Big Machine Label Group, home to Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts and others. The agreement allowed Clear Channel to bypass SoundExchange -- which sets rates for digitally streamed music that some have deemed to be expensive -- in favor of a direct profit sharing deal.

The latest deal marks another noteworthy agreement for Clear Channel.

As part of the new partnership, both entities will exploit their significant assets to promote each other's content. According to the companies, the Yahoo! Media Network reaches more than 167 million monthly online users and Clear Channel stations reach 237 million monthly listeners across 150 markets.

source: hollywoodreporter.com

Facebook could shrink like Yahoo —analyst

Can anyone ever imagine social networking giant Facebook "disappearing" eight years from now?

It just might happen, according to a hedge fund manager who noted Facebook‘s sliding stock price in recent weeks.

“In five to eight years, they are going to disappear in the way that Yahoo has disappeared,” tech site Mashable quoted Ironfire Capital founder Eric Jackson as saying on the CNBC show Squawk on the Street on Monday.

But Jackson qualified his definition of "disappearing" as being a shadow of its present self.

He cited the case of Yahoo, which remains profitable today but is no longer the juggernaut it was in 2000.

“Yahoo is still making money, it’s still profitable, still has 13,000 employees working for it, but it’s 10 percent of the value that it was at the height of 2000. For all intents and purposes, it’s disappeared,” he said.

Facebook stock officially went on sale on May 18 at $38 per share. It closed Monday at $26.90, Mashable said.

Mashable quoted Jackson as saying Facebook’s decline may be due to the continued emergence of the mobile web, and Facebook’s struggle to adapt to it.

This was despite Facebook having bought the popular mobile photo-sharing app Instagram for $1 billion in April.

Still, the company has acknowledged mobile as a potential stumbling block for sustained growth.

“The world is moving faster, it’s getting more competitive, not less. I think those who are dominant in their prior generation are really going to have a hard time moving into this newer generation," he said.

“Facebook can buy a bunch of mobile companies, but they are still a big, fat website and that’s different from a mobile app,” he added.

Problem with mobile

Mashable noted Facebook, during its required initial pre-IPO disclosure of 35 “risk factors” released in February, admitted that as mobile use of Facebook and the web in general continues to expand, its ad-free mobile platform will become more problematic.

It reiterated the challenge in an amended filing in May.

2nd of 3 generations

Mashable said Jackson saw Facebook as a member of the second of three generations of modern Internet companies.

The first generation, highlighted by businesses such as Google and Yahoo, served as portals that organized and aggregated the web’s information.

The second generation, most notably Facebook, capitalized on an emerging social web. The third generation is made up of companies whose sole goal is leveraging and monetizing mobile users.

“When you look over these three generations, no matter how successful you are in one generation, you don’t seem to be able to translate that into success in the second generation, no matter how much money you have in the bank, no matter how many smart PhDs you have working for you,” Jackson said.

He cited the case of Google, which is struggling to move into social. "And I think Facebook is going to have the same kind of challenges moving into mobile,” he said. — TJD/HS, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Yahoo, Alibaba reach $7.1 billion deal

Hong Kong (CNN) -- Yahoo and China's Alibaba Group have agreed to a $7.1 billion deal in which the Hangzhou-based internet behemoth buys back half of Yahoo's 40% stake in the company.

The agreement will give a much-welcomed cash injection to Yahoo, which has lost 65% of its value since its 2006 peak and is smarting from the resume-padding scandal of ex-CEO Scott Thompson, the third chief executive to lead the beleaguered web portal in three years.

Yahoo's 40% stake in Alibaba, purchased in 2005 for $1 billion, is widely considered the company's greatest asset. But the relationship has been a fractious one, punctuated with public disagreements over company direction, as well as Yahoo siding with Google in its 2010 fight with Chinese regulators.

Alibaba CEO Jack Ma publicly said in September he might be interested in buying Yahoo. "This transaction opens a new chapter in our relationship with Yahoo," Ma said in a news release Monday.

Alibaba is a leading e-commerce provider in China, the world's largest internet market.

"Today's agreement provides clarity for our shareholders on a substantial component of Yahoo!'s value and reaffirms the significance of our relationship with Alibaba," said Ross Levinsohn, interim CEO of Yahoo, in a release on the deal.

Under the terms of the deal, Yahoo will get $6.3 billion in cash and up to $800 million in newly issued Alibaba preferred stock.

"We look forward to delivering the proceeds of the near-term transaction to our shareholders, and to the further enhancement of value and the additional monetization in the future that this agreement enables," said Timothy R. Morse, chief financial officer of Yahoo.

source: CNN

Yahoo! CEO Thompson to step down — AllthingsD

Yahoo! Inc Chief Executive Scott Thompson is stepping down after a controversy over a fake computer science college degree on his biography, according to the blog AllthingsD.

Thompson’s interim replacement will likely be Yahoo!’s global media head Ross Levinson.

Yahoo!’s board is also closing in on a settlement with activist shareholder Daniel Loeb of Third Point, who discovered Thompson’s misstep, AllthingsD said.

source: interaksyon.com