INTERNET
Yahoo adds video to Flickr service
09-04-2008
by Ciara O'Brien
Could Yahoo and Flickr be about to take on the might of Google and YouTube on their homeground?
The internet giant has announced it is adding video sharing capabilities to its photo sharing Flickr service. Members of the Flickr pro service, which costs USD25 a year, can view and upload personal video clips to share them with other users, while those using the free version of the service will be able to view them too.
The new feature will work in a similar way to the Flickr photo service. Users can upload videos to their photostream and decide their privacy settings to allow friends, family or the wider Flickr community to see. They will also be able to embed their videos into a third-party website.
However, YouTube may not have anything to fear just yet. The new feature will only support clips of up to 90 seconds in length and 150MB in size.
"Video on Flickr is an extension of what Flickr is already doing with more than 2 billion photos worldwide - providing a place where people capture and share life's daily moments," said Kakul Srivastava, general manager of Flickr at Yahoo.
"Digital media has led to a new behaviour emerging in the market and people are much more likely to shoot short video clips, essentially "long photos," with their digital still cameras and mobile phones. There is a great resonance between this new category of content and with the kind of authentic, personal moments already being shared on Flickr."
Flickr has expanded its visitor numbers significantly in recent months, from 27 million to 42 million each month in the past year. Yahoo bought the photo sharing site back in 2005.
Meanwhile, Yahoo has agreed to buy web analytics software provider IndexTools. The company, also known Tensa Kft, provides measurement tools for online marketing. Under the deal, Yahoo will get IndexTools' web analytics business and technology as well as the Tensa R&D Kft. subsidiary.
"Yahoo believes that the ability to generate the most valuable and relevant insights is essential to seizing market opportunities and creating successful campaigns," said Bassel Ojjeh, senior vice president and head of Yahoo's Strategic Data Solutions group.
"We expect that the IndexTools' technology platform will provide our customers the opportunity to more quickly uncover and act on these insights, enhancing Yahoo's status as a partner of choice in online marketing and the must buy for the world's advertisers."
The new technology will allow Yahoo to deliver relevant insights and metrics for online campaigns that run across the entire Yahoo network, with more than 150,000 small-to-medium businesses the first to benefit.
These moves by Yahoo could be a way to reverse its declining search market share. It is this decline that led Microsoft to put in a USD42 million bid for Yahoo earlier this year. While Yahoo has so far resisted Microsoft's approaches it looks like Microsoft isn't giving up without a fight and could bring a lower offer directly to shareholders if Yahoo's board continues to resist the deal. Yahoo, on the other hand, maintains Microsoft's offer undervalues the company. The Flickr and Index Tools announcements could help Yahoo strengthen its case.
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