Yahoo! Inc. has launched Yahoo! Tech, a new web site that gives consumers plain-English advice and information about choosing and using the technology that has become a part of their daily lives. Yahoo! Tech (http://tech.yahoo.com) is designed to make personal technology and gadgets that are used daily easier for average people and laymen.
Fig. 1: Yahoo! Tech web site
The site features a broad selection of original and licensed content, hundreds of thousands of products with community product ratings and reviews, as well as shopping, community and personalisation features from across the Yahoo! network. Four experienced technology advisors, each focused on a specific audience such as "moms," "boomers" or "working guys," offer daily guidance for consumers looking to choose or use consumer electronics from one of 19 categories, including computers, cell phones, digital cameras and MP3 players.
"Personal technology has become essential to our daily lives, but the growing number of product choices often confuses and overwhelms most consumers. We created Yahoo! Tech to make life a little less complicated for our users," said Lloyd Braun, head of Yahoo!'s media group.
Some of the key offerings from Yahoo! Tech include:
- Community: Yahoo! Tech's active community lets users discover, share and interact with people just like them to learn about technology.
- Yahoo! Answers: Through the integration of Yahoo! Answers, consumers can get helpful tech information from real people.
- My Tech: As people research their favorite tech products, My Tech automatically remembers what they researched. In addition, users can save their favorite tech products for future reference, and compare them side-by-side or email them to family and friends.
- Yahoo! Shopping: Yahoo! Tech brings hundreds of thousands of technology products to consumers' fingertips through Yahoo! Shopping's product index. The shopping tools offered allow users to compare products by feature, brand, price and user rating.
- Search: Yahoo! Search technology is heavily integrated throughout Yahoo! Tech, enabling users to find the latest must-have products or advice, product round-ups or buying guides.
In addition to the licensed content, Yahoo! Tech has developed original content that brings a unique voice and perspective to the site. The Yahoo! Tech editorial team will develop product packages and roundups on topics from "Best-Value PCs" to "Must-Have Gadgets for a Road Trip," while four Yahoo! Tech Advisors will address the tech needs of specific audiences through daily commentary about technology in their lives.
Yahoo! Tech has created new opportunities for marketers too. With the understanding of technology made easier advertisers can now reach to a broader tech purchasing audience. Yahoo! is encouraging advertisers to develop messages that consumers of all levels will understand.
The company said with this in mind, much of the advertising on Yahoo! Tech has been developed solely for the web site with jargon-free messages that focus on the key user benefits consumers need most, rather than complicated product specs which is a big turn off for consumers. |
