Yahoo is getting super-serious about the role, tablets will play in its future content strategy. The company finally launched its Flipboard-like news reader, Livestand, this week. Also it launched IntoNow, an impressive social TV app for the iPad that marries the check-in functionality of GetGlue with the real-time content identification of Shazam.
Livestand pulls in content from Yahoo! sites, but also from around the Web, and you can sign into the app with your Facebook account. Each magazine you want to read comes in the form of an applet, and they are all free as is Livestand itself. Once downloaded, if you want to add more content to the library, go and explore all the content from the catalog and find what you want there.
Livestand has a pretty decent built-in video player too. Apart from watching videos, each category has items based on top ratings, views and other featured stories. Even though you can watch each story in detail within the app, there is still the option to view an article on the original website in Safari.
In addition to launching a whole new host of apps, Yahoo! has acquired the digital advertising company Interclick for $270 million. Ross Levinsohn, executive vice president for Yahoo’s America regions said that Interclick’s innovative platform will allow Yahoo! to expand its targeting and data capabilities to deliver campaigns with stronger performance metrics.
All these attempts to stand out, are probably due to the fact that there’s much to be desired when it comes to Yahoo!. The company is no longer seen as a technology innovator. It has hit quite a few road bumps in the last quarter, including firing Carol Bartz as chief executive. As for finances, it saw a 24 percent loss in revenue for its third quarter this year. In other words, it’s pretty stale and needs some fresh ideas.
