Yahoo Says It Will Finally Close Yahoo 360
This story was written by Joseph Tartakoff.
Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) first announced it would phase out Yahoo 360 two years agobut this time the company insists it's really going to close the social network. In a blog post Friday, Yahoo community manager Melissa Daniels explains that the company had delayed closing Yahoo 360 until it could find a way for members to preserve their data. They will now be able to either export it into their Yahoo profiles or to a blogging platform like WordPress or Blogger. She also says that the closure is part of a larger strategy of "reprioritizing some products." Other products to see the axe recently under new CEO Carol Bartz: Geocities, Farechase, and Briefcase.
When 360 shuts down on July 13, it will mark the official end of Yahoo's formal foray in social networking. Yahoo closed down its other social network, Yahoo Mash, last summer. (In her post, Daniels actually goes to some length to say that Yahoo is not going to shut down its profile pages next"Know that we're committed to having a universal profile across Yahoo!, and we're committed to working with you to improve and evolve this profile to make sure it's what YOU want to use.") However, the company said earlier this month it was considering making an acquisition in the social-networking space. Not clear how that would fit in with its plans to emphasize universal profiles across the site.
By Joseph Tartakoff