The new Yahoo page mixes news updates and entertainment with tools for searching, connecting, sharing and communicating online.
SUNNYVALE, California: Internet search titan Yahoo unveiled new front doors to the world on Tuesday with the online debut of its revamped web portal, customized for the cultures of each of its markets based on the search patterns of its 188 million users.
The new Yahoo page mixes news updates and entertainment with tools for searching, connecting, sharing and communicating online, according to Yahoo's vice president of Front Doors, Tapan Bhat.
"Just because users are happy with the status quo, that doesn't mean we can't make it better," Bhat told reporters while showing off the redesign at the company's campus in Sunnyvale, California.
Yahoo employed the gamut of research methods to figure out what its 188 million users around the globe might like on the page, according to Bhat. "We managed it worldwide, but we allowed countries to create differences that are cultural," Bhat said. "The people in each country get to decide what things are relevant to them."
For example, Yahoo users in Korea tend to be more "search-centric, so that feature was emphasized, Bhat said. Traffic feeds got more prominence in the car-crazed US market as compared to the French or Hong Kong pages, Bhat pointed out.
In Singapore, news was emphasized over entertainment based on search patterns there. A key aspect of Yahoo's new front doors was a personal assistant programmed to scour the Internet and retrieve information suited to people's interests, according to Bhat.
"Who wouldn't love a personal assistant to run their errands, get their coffee in the morning...?" Bhat asked rhetorically. "It's a powerful concept; technically advanced but fun. We've taken personalization to the masses."
New features on the page included a Yahoo Pulse service that reveals trends in what is being sought, read, listened to, shared or viewed online by the estimated eight billion people who use the search engine monthly.
Yahoo Pulse uses the treasure trove of data from the search engine's 'close to half-a-billion users' to reveal trends in anything from travel or music to clothing or restaurants, according to Bhat.
"We are taking the power away from self-appointed arbiters of taste," Bhat said. "We have millions of people around the world to tell us what is hot. We don't need some guy getting paid lots of money with a false accent telling us."
Enhancements to the search box include access to a 'Yahoo Answers' service that taps into collective knowledge for replies to direct questions.
Prominent ads on the page appeal to companies seeking to establish brand recognition with Yahoo's audience, Bhat explained.
"Happy users and happy advertisers is how we make money," Bhat said. "This is the Super Bowl of advertising. There is no other medium where one ad can get to so many people."
Reaction to the redesigned portal by users so far has been 'a big 'Wow/, Bhat said.
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