Yahoo Mash takes on social networking heavies

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 18 September 2007 01:51

Your IT - Home IT

Yahoo is making a second tilt at success in the social networking arena with Mash.

Given that several social network sites - notably MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn - are well established, Mash would need a significant point of difference in order to establish traction. That may be the way users can open their profiles to editing by their friends.

"Of course, there are extensive privacy controls in Mash and you set the boundaries that you’re comfortable with," said Will Aldrich, Mash team leader at Yahoo.

This idea has been taken a step further by allowing users to create "starter profiles" for their friends. This could have a useful effect on participation rates by kickstarting new users' customisation activity. A variety of modules are available for inclusion on profile pages, including Flickr and blog feeds, and Tamagotchi-like electronic pets.

Mash's Pulse feature lists the additions and changes to friends' profiles, along with their (Twitteresque) 'blurts.'

"Mash is still pretty raw — there are bugs and we haven’t gotten to several of the features it really should have," warned Aldrich.

Yahoo's Mash is currently in an invitation-only beta.

Yahoo 360°, the company's previous attempt at social networking, is still in beta after two and a half years and has not proved very successful despite integration with Yahoo Groups and Yahoo Messenger.