February 12, 2007 on 9:11 am | In Fun Stuff | 19 Comments
With Valentine’s Day just a couple of days away, I want to share a Messenger love story that hit our inbox recently. And I’ll show you some ways you can use Messenger to share the love.
This love story begins in the Yahoo! chat room “Books and Literature.” Autumn wandered in one evening, hoping to relieve her boredom but also looking for a social outlet, since her role as a single mom didn’t give her much chance to get out. After a couple of weeks of chatting, Autumn loved her new chat home and the people in it. “These friends have talked me off a hundred ledges, made me laugh, and everything else that friends are supposed to do.”
One day, Autumn came across a new chatter, Joseph. They struck up a friendship, which developed into a crush, which then developed into a face-to-face meeting months later. Within days of their meeting, Autumn and Joseph moved in together and then married a month later.
Autumn writes “I’m coming up on my first anniversary with the man of my dreams, who I accidentally met in a chat room and forged a relationship with over the cyber-waves, and I NEVER would have met him without Yahoo Chat. So, I say thanks! You’ve changed my life in a HUGE way.”
We love these romantic stories, and we’re thrilled Yahoo! helped bring Autumn and Joseph together. She calls Joseph “the best mistake I ever made.” Awww…
Feeling inspired? Here are a few ways you can use Messenger to show your love:
Falling Hearts IMVironment: Shower your IM buddy with love and hit the Buzz button (ctrl+g) to send a big smooch. Try it now
Flirt with audibles: Whether you’re summoning the courage to declare your love or just want to make sure your sweetie knows, send a flirtatious audible. Try it now
Loving emoticons: Sprinkle your IM’s with these favorites: 
:x 
:-* 
=P~ 
;;))
Call to say “I love you”: Call the one you love with Messenger. If your sweetie is also on Messenger, the call is free. Or use Phone Out to call regular and mobile phones worldwide for as low as 1¢ a minute.
Share your favorite love song: While on a PC call, use the soundtrack feature in Sound Effects to upload a song that plays in the background of your call. Barry White anyone?
Dress it up: Change your Avatar into some love-inspired gear.
Share the love! xoxo,
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
February 8, 2007 on 3:49 pm | In Features | 10 Comments
Ever find yourself struggling to explain in IM, email or on the phone where someone should click on a web page, or what folder on their PC they should be opening to fix a technical issue? A couple of Messenger plug-ins can help.
Unyte Lyte Desktop Sharing
Developed by WebDialogs, a company that specializes in online conferencing and collaboration, this plug-in lets you share your desktop with a friend right in the IM window. Your friends can also share theirs with you. I’ve used this plug-in to review documents with co-workers, to see a slideshow of pictures on a friend’s computer, and even to sort out a few PC glitches for grateful friends.
WebEx Co-Browse
Most people know WebEx for its conferencing tools; here at Yahoo! we use it all the time for meetings. With this handy plug-in, you and a friend can surf the web together at the same time right in your IM window. It’s handy for when you want to show a friend a site you found, make travel plans together, shop online, or show an exact spot on a web page.
Both plug-ins make it super easy to collaborate. Your friend sees exactly what you see, and each offers dual controls so you or your friend can run the show.
To use these plug-ins, first install them from the gallery (Unyte Lyte, WebEx Co-Browse). Then when you’re in an IM conversation, click the Plug-ins button at the top of the window and select one from your list of available plug-ins. Once your friend accepts your invitation, start sharing!
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
February 6, 2007 on 3:38 pm | In Avatars, Fun Stuff | 37 Comments
A few weeks ago, some members of the Yahoo! Messenger team traveled through Vietnam en route home from a conference in Asia. With the help of some local Yahoos in Ho Chi Minh City and a research company, they set out to interview some Messenger users.
Billed as an immersion trip, their goal was to observe and interview Vietnamese users using Yahoo! Messenger in different environments. They interviewed users from 16 to 25 years of age in their homes and in Internet cafes.
In Vietnam, Yahoo! Messenger is the most popular instant messaging application, and our users there are really enthusiastic about it. While we do offer Messenger in more than a dozen languages, we don’t yet offer it in Vietnamese, so these users all use the U.S. version.
Despite a possible language barrier, they take full advantage of Yahoo! Messenger and especially love the expression features like emoticons, audibles, Avatars, webcam, and IMVironments — they seem to use every feature we offer. Another thing we learned: Just changing the location of a single button in a new release can wreak havoc on their usage patterns!
The team met several users who were especially passionate about Messenger and Avatars. As thanks for their participation in the research, we wanted to do something special for them. So with a few snaps of the digital camera, we brought their images home and sent them to the Avatars team. Our artist went to work, and a few days later, their Avatars were born.
These new Avatars based on our Vietnamese friends will make their official debut on February 27. If you haven’t been by in awhile, check out our Avatars site. There are new accessories and outfits added often, so you never have to wear the same thing twice.
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
UPDATE: The Vietnam avatar clothing is now available. Go to the Full Outfit category on Yahoo! Avatars to check them out.
February 2, 2007 on 10:10 am | In Mobile | 65 Comments
I decided to blog about our mobile features because I’ve found that many of our users don’t know about them. I use the SMS feature a lot when I’m trying to reach friends on their mobile. It’s much easier for me to type a mobile text message (SMS) into an IM window than fumble around on my phone’s tiny dial pad. And if you like to be available to your friends, even when you’re away from your PC, you’ll love the “Sign out to Mobile” feature.
Save your thumbs – SMS from Messenger
If you know a friend’s mobile number, you can send the person text messages (SMS) right from Messenger for free. (Your friend will be charged any applicable fees by his or her carrier for receiving the SMS message.) To send an SMS, type your friend’s name or mobile phone number into the contact search box, and choose “Send SMS” from the drop-down menu. (You can also right click on a contact and choose “Send an SMS Message.”) Type your message in the IM window and click “Send.” When your friend replies, the message will come back to you in Messenger.
Stay available from your mobile phone
When I sign out of Messenger at night, I sign out to my mobile phone. This shows me as available to my friends but with the status message “I’m mobile” next to my name. If a friend IM’s me from Messenger, the message is forwarded to my phone as an SMS message. (You’ll be charged any applicable fees by your carrier for receiving the SMS message.)
To activate IM forwarding, start by registering your mobile phone. Then the next time you want to sign out of Messenger, click the Messenger menu and choose the “Sign in to [your mobile #]” option.
There are other ways to use Messenger on your mobile phone too. Many phones have Yahoo! Messenger pre-installed, and all you have to do is sign in with your Yahoo! ID and password. It’s typically free to sign in, and each message is billed as an SMS message. (SMS charges can vary by carrier; please check with your carrier.)
If you don’t have the Yahoo! Messenger application already on your phone, you can always use your mobile browser to go to yahoo.com and select Messenger.
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
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