Yahoo now has a PayPal-style service.
August 30, 2000 9:05 AM Subscribe
Yahoo now has a PayPal-style service. What is Yahoo not doing these days? And how does this relate to them being a media company? They've got the directory, bill payment, auctions, bookmarks, and a music player, among their many offerings. It seems like they've copied many major internet applications and put them in one place. Are they the "Microsoft" of the web in terms of innovation?
Yahoo is following the MS strategy to a tee. They either buy the company providing the service, or do it themselves.
posted by owillis at 9:31 AM on August 30, 2000
posted by owillis at 9:31 AM on August 30, 2000
Yes, but generally speaking, I have found Yahoo!'s services to be better than the internet app they are copying. For instance, as a buyer, I much prefer Yahoo's auctions to Ebays (much easier to find things), and this new payment service has a really cool feature I haven't seen before:
Identity Confirmation
The "Identity Confirmation" feature provides added security if you are unsure of a person's email address. An email will be sent to the recipient asking them to answer a question (specified by you) to prove their identity. The answer will be returned to you. You can then accept the response (and the money will be sent), or you can decline (and the transaction will be cancelled).
Besides, all the services work on my Sprint PCS phone, so what more could I ask for? Now I can pay my bills by phone! (Oh, wait, couldn't we do that before?)
posted by tsitzlar at 9:38 AM on August 30, 2000
Identity Confirmation
The "Identity Confirmation" feature provides added security if you are unsure of a person's email address. An email will be sent to the recipient asking them to answer a question (specified by you) to prove their identity. The answer will be returned to you. You can then accept the response (and the money will be sent), or you can decline (and the transaction will be cancelled).
Besides, all the services work on my Sprint PCS phone, so what more could I ask for? Now I can pay my bills by phone! (Oh, wait, couldn't we do that before?
posted by tsitzlar at 9:38 AM on August 30, 2000
why should they focus on the directory, except for nostalgia's sake? their strategy is to have yahoo be a single destination not only for content, but also for tools -- and they're doing a good job of it. their apps are integrated (at least more integrated than most other providers), and it's that integration that makes 'em stickier than other sites. and they're pushing that sticky integration down out of the browser and on to the desktop (used yahoo messenger lately? it has some very interesting functionality) and into the device (yahoo via wap, yahoo via palm vii, yahoo via omnisky).
posted by msippey at 9:40 AM on August 30, 2000
posted by msippey at 9:40 AM on August 30, 2000
What happened to Yahoo Phonebooth?
You used to be able to go to phonebooth.yahoo.com and find the cheapest 10-10-nnn number to call from a point in the US to a specified international location. As I'm an American expat in Argentina, my mom found this a very useful service. Now they just have a link to net2phone.
Anyone know of a good price comparison engine for 10-10-nnn numbers?
posted by lockecito at 9:46 AM on August 30, 2000
You used to be able to go to phonebooth.yahoo.com and find the cheapest 10-10-nnn number to call from a point in the US to a specified international location. As I'm an American expat in Argentina, my mom found this a very useful service. Now they just have a link to net2phone.
Anyone know of a good price comparison engine for 10-10-nnn numbers?
posted by lockecito at 9:46 AM on August 30, 2000
The apps themselves are usually quite good, when they're up. Messenger is one of the few things that is reliable. I finally gave up and transferred my e-mail. And customer service...don't get me started.
Yes, they're doing a great job of being a one-stop web center, but they need to concentrate on infrastructure as well.
I understand their rush, but I question their readiness.
posted by frykitty at 9:49 AM on August 30, 2000
Yes, they're doing a great job of being a one-stop web center, but they need to concentrate on infrastructure as well.
I understand their rush, but I question their readiness.
posted by frykitty at 9:49 AM on August 30, 2000
Well, I like only needing one login. Plus yahoo is probably going to be around for awhile and not merge or go under. And they seem to do a good job of stealing any innovative features that their competitors dream up. Sure it sucks for the competition, but it's a win for the consumer.
As far as the directory... don't most people just use google for that?
posted by smackfu at 10:34 AM on August 30, 2000
As far as the directory... don't most people just use google for that?
posted by smackfu at 10:34 AM on August 30, 2000
It's interesting that these new "breakthrough" services are the ones which prove that the net isn't that global after all. My Visa card may be accepted in the US, but not by PayPal or Yahoo Wallet.
posted by holgate at 10:58 AM on August 30, 2000
posted by holgate at 10:58 AM on August 30, 2000
Yahoo is following the MS strategy to a tee. They either buy the company providing the service, or do it themselves.
Is there another way?
posted by briandame at 11:01 AM on August 30, 2000
Is there another way?
posted by briandame at 11:01 AM on August 30, 2000
1010phonerates.com seems to have what you're looking for, lockecito.
I imagine they had a content-repurposing license of some kind that expired. Just like now you can't get regional news at My Yahoo anymore. Even though it was just a barely-adequate headline/slug listing of e.g. "Wisconsin Headlines", with one or two always duplicated over in the full story section because it was getting national play anyway, I used it. Bzzt.
posted by dhartung at 12:48 PM on August 30, 2000
I imagine they had a content-repurposing license of some kind that expired. Just like now you can't get regional news at My Yahoo anymore. Even though it was just a barely-adequate headline/slug listing of e.g. "Wisconsin Headlines", with one or two always duplicated over in the full story section because it was getting national play anyway, I used it. Bzzt.
posted by dhartung at 12:48 PM on August 30, 2000
Well, I like only needing one login. Plus [this company] is probably going to be around for awhile and not merge or go under. And they seem to do a good job of stealing any innovative features that their competitors dream up. Sure it sucks for the competition, but it's a win for the consumer.
My biggest problem with the computer world writ large: fill in [this company] with "Microsoft", and you get reamed for making this statement, but fill it in with any other company (as smackfu did with "Yahoo"), and nobody blinks an eye. Smacks of disparate treatment.
posted by delfuego at 4:23 PM on August 30, 2000
My biggest problem with the computer world writ large: fill in [this company] with "Microsoft", and you get reamed for making this statement, but fill it in with any other company (as smackfu did with "Yahoo"), and nobody blinks an eye. Smacks of disparate treatment.
posted by delfuego at 4:23 PM on August 30, 2000
Smackfu may choose Yahoo for their MS-like qualities, Delfuego, but many of us avoid using Yahoo for the same reasons. I hate their auctions, their email service and most of the other copied features on their site. I use the maps and I'm in a couple of Yahoo Clubs, but otherwise I stay away from them; they may have a little bit of everything, but they have nothing to offer me.
posted by wiremommy at 4:58 PM on August 30, 2000
posted by wiremommy at 4:58 PM on August 30, 2000
With the Yahooification of eGroups (coming) and WebRing (started today in a big way) I fear what will happen if they continue taking over all of the webapps and services that catch their fancy. What will be next?
posted by Dreama at 4:53 PM on September 1, 2000
posted by Dreama at 4:53 PM on September 1, 2000
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posted by dandot at 9:12 AM on August 30, 2000