Yahoo! Messenger Blog » Fun Stuff http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:12:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Special integration on Jimmy Kimmel Live episode shows our Yahoo! Messenger Video Calling feature – live! http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2010/06/29/special-integration-on-jimmy-kimmel-live-episode-shows-our-yahoo-messenger-video-calling-feature-%e2%80%93-live/ http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2010/06/29/special-integration-on-jimmy-kimmel-live-episode-shows-our-yahoo-messenger-video-calling-feature-%e2%80%93-live/#comments Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:40:17 +0000 sherrine http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/?p=1227 For those of you who watch The Bachelorette on ABC, you know that Ali Fedotowsky is in the final throws of determining who is going to be her ultimate choice.   As the show nears its end, with only 5 bachelors remaining, millions of viewers are tuning in to see the drama unfold – and Jimmy Kimmel Live had an exclusive check-in segment last night – all through Yahoo! Messenger.   Ali couldn’t be on the show – but with Yahoo! Messenger video calling – viewers still got to see and hear all the latest.

For those of you who haven’t already done so, download the latest version of Yahoo! Messenger and experience high-quality, full screen video and voice calling today!

Sherrine Tan

Yahoo! Messenger Team

]]> http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2010/06/29/special-integration-on-jimmy-kimmel-live-episode-shows-our-yahoo-messenger-video-calling-feature-%e2%80%93-live/feed/ 7 “Easter Egg” features within Yahoo! Messenger http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2010/04/05/easter-egg-features-within-yahoo-messenger/ http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2010/04/05/easter-egg-features-within-yahoo-messenger/#comments Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:57:34 +0000 thyaga http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/?p=997 Hope you all had a good Easter weekend.

We, at Yahoo! Messenger, thought we might make this Easter a bit special for you all. Today, we are letting you on to a couple of hidden or “Easter egg” features within Yahoo! Messenger:

(1). List of Hidden Emoticons – use them to surprise your friends

(2). Hold down the windows key and press Y to bring up Messenger no matter what window you’re in.

We hope you will enjoy these hidden features as much as you have enjoyed using Yahoo! Messenger.

Happy Easter!

Thyaga Vasudevan
Product Manager

]]> http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2010/04/05/easter-egg-features-within-yahoo-messenger/feed/ 10 Watch for new “Life” ads with special Messenger features http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2010/03/19/watch-for-new-life-ads-with-special-messenger-features/ http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2010/03/19/watch-for-new-life-ads-with-special-messenger-features/#comments Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:15:22 +0000 Administrator http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/?p=935 As a Yahoo! Messenger user, you’re used to seeing ads when you’re chatting with friends. We know you see ads all over the Internet, so it’s always a challenge for us to serve up compelling ads that are unique.

This weekend you’ll see ads in Yahoo! Messenger for Discovery Channel’s new Life series, which begins March 21. Narrated by Oprah Winfrey, Life is an 11-part series about the natural world around us, and is the follow up to the critically acclaimed series, Planet Earth.

Rather than just offer up the usual banner ads, we’ve partnered with Life to integrate some fun Messenger functionality into their ads. If you see a Life ad in Yahoo! Messenger, be sure to click to expand it. You can watch a video preview of the series and then with just a click, share it with your IM friends, update your status to tell your friends about the show, or even change your display image to one of the cool animal images from the show.

While we know ads can sometimes distract you from what you’re doing in Yahoo! Messenger, we hope you’ll find that these special Life ads instead enhance your IM experience by giving you something fun to share with your friends.

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager

]]> http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2010/03/19/watch-for-new-life-ads-with-special-messenger-features/feed/ 10 Happy Holidays from the Yahoo! Messenger team http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/12/21/happy-holidays-from-the-yahoo-messenger-team/ http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/12/21/happy-holidays-from-the-yahoo-messenger-team/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:43:55 +0000 Administrator http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/?p=739 The blog will be on hiatus until the New Year, so we’ll see you again in 2010!

But we wanted to leave you with a little holiday cheer so here’s the team singing “Let’s IM” to the tune of the classic song, “Let it Snow”.

In case you can’t decipher what we’re singing, the lyrics are below.


We hope everyone has a great holiday and a Happy New Year!

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager


LET’S IM
(sung to the tune of “Let it Snow”)

Oh the weather outside is frightful
But my computer is so delightful
And since we’ve no place to go
Let’s IM, let’s IM, let’s IM

It doesn’t show signs of stopping
And my webcam is a poppin’
My emoticons are ready to go
Let’s IM, let’s IM, let’s IM

When we finally say goodnight
How I’ll miss our witty banter
But if you ever really need to talk
Let’s IM, let’s IM, let’s IM

Most of my friends have signed off
But you and I, we’re still connecting
As long as you don’t ignore me
Let’s IM, let’s IM, let’s IM

]]> http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/12/21/happy-holidays-from-the-yahoo-messenger-team/feed/ 4 Create your custom snowman holiday greeting http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/12/17/create-your-custom-snowman-holiday-greeting/ http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/12/17/create-your-custom-snowman-holiday-greeting/#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:46:24 +0000 Administrator http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/?p=736 Looking for a fun greeting to send out to friends and family this year? Look no further than the “Build Your Own Snowman” card from Yahoo!.

Start by adjusting the size of his snowballs, then give him or her the proper eyes, nose and mouth. Or maybe not so proper depending on the mood you’re in. Then choose from a variety of backgrounds and add some holiday and not-so-holiday items to your tableau (pandas anyone?). There’s even holiday music playing to keep you in the mood.

When you’re done, we’ll give you a link that you can send out to friends over IM, email, Twitter, Facebook and more.

What are you waiting for? Start building your snowman!

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager


]]> http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/12/17/create-your-custom-snowman-holiday-greeting/feed/ 4 A short (and funny!) film about learning IM http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/11/01/a-short-and-funny-film-about-learning-im/ http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/11/01/a-short-and-funny-film-about-learning-im/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:14:08 +0000 Administrator http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/?p=653 A co-worker pointed me to this short film about a 50+ couple, Mia and Florin Popescu, who are both a little scared of technology but determined enough to stick with it so they can IM with their son, Alex, who lives in the US. A piece of crumpled paper with instructions from Alex is their only map to the sometimes complicated world of Yahoo Messenger. It’s not a documentary but it feels like one!

Created in 2008 by Director Constantin Popescu, “The Yellow Smiley Face (Fata Galbena)” is a delightful and funny look at the steep learning curve computers present for those who have little to no experience. Watching the couple took me back to when I taught my own parents and grandparents. A powerful reminder that at some point in the past, I too had to learn how to use this machine that hums at my feet day and night.

What’s most charming about the film is the big payoff – Mia and Florin’s faces and excited chatter when they finally do connect with Alex and see him on-screen. A nice illustration of how all this complicated technology can ultimately help us make real connections.

Even if it is sometimes daunting.

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager



]]> http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/11/01/a-short-and-funny-film-about-learning-im/feed/ 11 Is the Yodel in Y!ou? http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/10/12/is-the-yodel-in-you/ http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/10/12/is-the-yodel-in-you/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:48:05 +0000 Administrator http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/?p=617 This week, we’ve launched the first-ever Yodel Studio where Yahoo! users can come and record their personalized version of our famous brand sound.

That’s right, the catchy Yahoo! trademark, which is part song, part celebration shout, is ready for you to modify, mix and simply make your own. Be loud, be funny, be serious or be seriously silly, but most of all just be YOU! Just head over to the Yodel Studio, plug in your webcam, select a background track and…Yodel! If you need inspiration, there’s some samples to inspire you.

No webcam? Just use your video phone or camcorder to record your yodel, then upload it here. And if you want to really go all out, you can even download the backing tracks to edit and mix your Yodel at home. Then upload it through the site.

We’re also holding live events in New York, London and Mumbai with a little help from local (and famous!) musicians who will help coach eager Yodelers into giving their best performances.

Don’t think there’s much you can do with our Yodel? Check out the samples below by clicking the play button. Inspired? Record your own and share with your friends!

A Cappella
60’s
80’s
Big Band
Bluegrass
Bollywood
Country
Urban Hip Hop
Metal
Reggae
Techno

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager

]]> http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/10/12/is-the-yodel-in-you/feed/ 13 A quick poll for the weekend http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/08/21/a-quick-poll-for-the-weekend/ http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/08/21/a-quick-poll-for-the-weekend/#comments Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:16:51 +0000 Administrator http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/?p=513 It’s Friday and that got me wondering… What happens to your IM usage on the weekends? Answer the poll below and let us know.

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager



]]> http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/08/21/a-quick-poll-for-the-weekend/feed/ 12 Art imitates life imitates IM http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/08/04/art-imitates-life-imitates-im/ http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/08/04/art-imitates-life-imitates-im/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:03:12 +0000 Administrator http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/?p=434 Yahoo! Messenger engineer, Adrien, finds a kindred spirit at the movies.


]]> http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/08/04/art-imitates-life-imitates-im/feed/ 6 Give us your best Yahoo! smile http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/07/31/give-us-your-best-yahoo-smile/ http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2009/07/31/give-us-your-best-yahoo-smile/#comments Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:03:16 +0000 Administrator http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/?p=426 A Philippines blog called “Yahoo! Purple Hunt Adventure” had a nice story about a 5-year old girl named Caitlyn.

After watching her parents communicate with friends and relatives on Yahoo! Messenger, she blurted out to her Mom one day, “this is how Yahoo! smiles!”.

Since then, our smiley has inspired her to practice drawing it and she even made a quick video, giving her best imitation of the “bouncy smiley” that you see when you’re signing into Yahoo! Messenger. Check it out below.

We’re all smiles over here too, Caitlyn.

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager

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