Yahoo Open

Opening Yahoo

First came its support for OpenSocial and OpenID. Now Yahoo has unveiled a strategy it's calling Yahoo Open—a plan not only to unite the brand under one umbrella, but also to allow third-party developers access to all the disparate properties. Currently users move from search to del.icio.us to Flickr to mail without any commonalities other than one login and password. It's almost as though Yahoo has built their social network in reverse by acquiring destination sites first and leaving the user interface for last.

The fortunate end of that case is the content is already in place—the users, the sites, the tools—and all that is left is the connective tissue. While that unification is taking place, Yahoo will also be accommodating custom apps to run across its network. Developers will be able to connect properties and feed data wherever they'd like. Want to see your Flickr photos on your del.icio.us page? Play a card game next to your sports news feed? The possibilities are, well, open.

Via: Wired