Yahoo! keeps Twitter-rival launch under the radar

LONDON - Yahoo! is readying the launch of an English-language version of its Twitter-like microblogging website, Yahoo! Meme, after quietly rolling out the site in Spain and Portugal.

Yahoo! Meme is still on an invite-only basis, but it is anticipated Yahoo! will make the website publicly available as part of the company's main social media strategy.

The website lets users post small updates, like Twitter, which can also include photos, mp3s or videos, with a 100 character limit.

Users can follow other users and can "repost" other's entries, comparable to the "reblog" function on Tumblr, or "retweeting" on Twitter.

Comments and discussion panels are available for every post, with a "Popular" option that mimics Twitter's Trending Topics.

The company has kept quiet about the website's launch, with no official promotion or statements. Users can request an invite from the Yahoo! Meme homepage, where it says the service is coming soon.

Yahoo! Meme follows the company's social media makeover of its homepage, which allows users to add third-party widgets from other websites, such as Twitter and Gmail.

Earlier this week Yahoo! India closed down its local invite-only social networking site SpotM, which suffered stiff competition from Google's Okrut and Facebook.

You have

[DAYS_LEFT] Days left

of your free trial

Subscribe now

Get a team licence 

 Give your teams unrestricted access to in-depth editorial analysis, breaking news and premium reports with a bespoke subscription to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10.

Find out more

Market Reports

Get unprecedented new-business intelligence with access to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s new Market Reports.

Find out more

Looking for a new job?

Get the latest creative jobs in advertising, media, marketing and digital delivered directly to your inbox each day.

Create an Alert Now