Search giant Yahoo has attempted to move deeper into social media, by integrating its email service with networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
Blake Irving, chief product officer at Yahoo, told Information Week that the company is now allowing users of its Yahoo Mail Beta program to access social networking tools, along with improved instant messaging features and even texting tools.
“Online communication tools are an important part of people’s lives — whether they’re connecting with their friends and family, sharing pictures and videos, or keeping up on news across social networks,” he said.
“We’ve built a powerful global framework for email that lets us quickly innovate and enhance this trusted service that people rely on every day. Yahoo Mail Beta completes our trio of mail experiences, seamlessly spanning the PC, Droid, iPhone, and iPad.”
Users are now able to use the Yahoo Mail Beta client to see photos and videos from sites including Flickr, Picasa and YouTube.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
