April 29, 2009 on 3:00 pm | In Fun Stuff | 12 Comments
This video is from a couple of months ago, but love is always timely, right? 
Our broadcast team did a story on a couple that met in person, and then grew their relationship online using IM and webcam.
What do you think? Does IM help or hinder your relationships, love or otherwise? Have you relied on it to grow a relationship or keep it alive? Tell us in the comments.
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
March 26, 2009 on 2:02 pm | In Fun Stuff, Voice | 11 Comments
I may be dating myself, but remember using rotary phones as a kid? And how solid (but really heavy) those handsets were?
A company called YUBZ has brought them back to life. For awhile now, they’ve been selling their retro handsets for use with mobile phones. Just plug the adapter in your cellphone and voila, you’re transported back to 1978.
Well they’re about to make it work with voice over IP too with a new product called the YUBZ Talk Jack.
Connect the Talk Jack with the YUBZ handset, plug it into a USB port on your computer, and then use it to make retro calls through Yahoo! Messenger.
YUBZ handsets are $44.95; the Talk Jack accessory, available in pink or black, is $19.50. Head over to the YUBZ website to get your retro groove on. If you’re into bling, be sure check out the limited-edition gold handset. 
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
December 22, 2008 on 9:57 am | In Fun Stuff | 39 Comments
The blog will be on hiatus until the New Year, so we’ll see you in 2009. We hope everyone has a great holiday and a Happy New Year!
Cheers,
The Yahoo! Messenger team
December 17, 2008 on 10:15 am | In 9.0 version, Avatars, Fun Stuff, Pingbox | 5 Comments
December is already halfway done so time is running out to send your holiday greetings to your Yahoo! Messenger friends. Here’s a round-up of the fun things you can do:
Flickr IMVironment: Get in the winter spirit
Put some seasonal photos into your IM background with the Flickr IMV. It will open automatically to pictures from December, full of snowy landscapes and other winter favorites. Try it now with a friend or preview it yourself. (Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 only).
Holiday audibles
We’ve brought back the “Holiday” and “Holiday Hints” audibles. Send a mistletoe kiss to your sweetie or send a not-so-gentle reminder that you want to find a MP3 player under the tree this year. (Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 only)
Emoticarolers
Pick the Yahoo! Messenger Emoticarolers for your group, customize the lyrics to a favorite tune like “Jingle Bells” or “Deck the Halls”, and then send your e-card off to the digital doorsteps of your friends and family.
Pingbox holiday themes
Check out the new background themes in the Pingbox studio. If you’re already hosting a Pingbox on your website or social network profile, just edit its settings in the studio and your Pingbox will automatically get updated.
Elf your Avatar (or a friend’s)
Dress up your Avatar with holiday cheer for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or New Year’s. Or install the Yahoo! Avatars Makeover plug-in to create a new Avatar for your friends (plug-in for Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 only).
Happy Holidays!
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
P.S. – In addition to all these Messenger holiday goodies, there’s also a Yahoo! holiday e-card called “Frosty’s Scrapbook”. Choose a background (or upload your own photo) and then drag and drop fun objects into your card to create your holiday scrapbook greeting.
December 9, 2008 on 2:12 pm | In Fun Stuff | 14 Comments
Into every holiday season must come a little cheer… and some singing emoticons.
This year, we’re pleased to introduce the Emoticarolers, a band of cheery singers with their own unique take on the holiday classics. Pick the Emoticarolers for your group, customize the lyrics to a favorite tune, and then send your e-card off to the digital doorsteps of your friends and family.
Once you’ve completed your Emoticaroler greeting, you can IM it to a friend, include it as a link in your Yahoo! Messenger status message, email it, or download the MP3.
Here’s one I put together for all of our readers and commenters here on the blog:
Happy Holidays!
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
