MySpace Takes Aim at Yahoo

Social networking explosion attracting users but not advertisers

(NEWSER) - Social networking has become more popular than email—but that popularity hasn't translated into profitability, a new Nielsen study finds. Social networking "member communities" such as Facebook are now the most popular Internet activity, according to Nielsen's figures, attracting 67% of global Internet users and still growing fast. Email trails at 65%, Adweek reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Yahoo today restated its opinion that Microsoft’s $44.6 billion buyout bid underestimates the online giant’s “combination of unique assets,” but for the first time stated publicly the strengths it would bring to the Microsoft merger, MarketWatch reports. In an investor presentation for the SEC, the company argued it would take Microsoft "from sub-scale position to strong positions in search and display." More»

Portal eyes overhaul to preserve slipping top-dog status

(NEWSER) - With Google, Facebook, and MySpace gnawing at its top-dog status, Yahoo is reinventing some foundation applications to make them appeal to a new generation of users, reports the New York Times. First step? Turbocharging Yahoo Mail to make it more a communications hub and less a post office, a prototype Yahoo demo'd at the Consumer Electronics Show last week. More»

Integration will boost traffic on both sites, they hope

(NEWSER) - Yahoo is finally getting seriously social in a new partnership that will integrate Facebook Connect into its many properties. Yahoo users will be able monitor their Facebook feed on Yahoo, and vice versa. The integration will be done “on a deep level,” a Yahoo exec tells Kara Swisher, who finds it ironic in light of the fact that Yahoo almost managed to acquire Facebook for just over $1 billion several years ago. More»

Bartz, of Autodesk, will succeed Yang, sources say

(NEWSER) - Yahoo will soon name Carol Bartz as its new CEO after a two-month search for a successor to Jerry Yang, the Wall Street Journal reports. The 60-year-old Bartz served as CEO of Autodesk Inc from 1992 to 2006, and still serves as the company’s executive chairman. She’s also on the board at Cisco Systems, alongside none other than Yang, and has previously been an executive at Sun Microsystems. More»