yahoo.com
Yahoo is one of those sites that everyone knows and uses. It's been around for many years and it still provides useful information. People used to rely on Yahoo to find the answers to questions like "What is Ask Jeeves?" but now there are more reliable search engines.
Most of us no longer use Yahoo for its original purpose, as a search engine, because the majority of people default to Google (which has been made even easier thanks to the fact that they now have their own web browser, Google Chrome). However, that does not mean that Yahoo is simply fading into obscurity.
Despite Yahoo's search engine being no longer its primary purpose, the website still manages to be useful by providing reliable, up-to-date information on movies, TV shows, and celebrities in the form of Yahoo Movies. Many people turn to Yahoo as a go-to source for entertainment news and reviews, especially because it is updated frequently.
History
Yahoo is actually an acronym that was intentionally created to create a specific word. The acronym's creators, Yahoo!, had two backronyms in mind when naming the company: ?Yet Another Hierarchically Organized Oracle? or Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle. They chose Yahoo because they enjoyed the meaning (which was taken from the famous work of fiction, Gulliver's Travels): an unsophisticated, rural southern person; uncouth.
Regardless of which backronym you prefer, it is clear to see that the founders of Yahoo have always had a somewhat ironic sense of humor, something that I always welcome warmly when it comes to innovations in technology. This kind of thing humanizes the algorithms and AI that we use on a daily basis, something that can be a little too cold and sterile at times.
Two Stanford students, David Filo and Jerry Yang, created Yahoo in January 1994. The site was originally called Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web, and it served as a directory of other websites. It wasn't until 1995 that the key component to what made Yahoo the digital powerhouse that it became, the search function, was added.
In May of 1998, Yahoo announced a new feature called "Upcoming Movies." At the time, this was simply called "Yahoo Services" and it was one of the company's most popular services. Over the years, it has continued to expand its offerings and in 2005, Yahoo Movies began to offer personalized movie recommendations to its users.
Yahoo Movies has been established as a hub for entertainment news with announcements of upcoming movies, recommendations based on users' personalized interests, insider info, and exclusive content such as red carpet photos at awards shows, recaps of the big nights' winners, snubs, photos, videos, and polls. The site continues to gain momentum with famous film critics joining their staff and box office information, trailers, clips and fun listicles like its annual Summer Movies Guide.
Yahoo Movies is a great source of information when it comes to entertainment news, reviews, and intel. If you're looking for everything happening in the entertainment industry, Yahoo Movies may be just what you're looking for. Let's dive in and find out!
Design
I think the design of Yahoo Movies could use some work. It feels overshadowed by the much larger Yahoo Entertainment site. But this could just be my personal preference.
If you're the type of person who's interested in finding all forms of entertainment news as well as politics and global news, then I don't think you'll have any trouble with this website. However, I think it would have been nicer if Yahoo Movies existed on its own, separate from Yahoo News' more generalized design.
Although the design of the website is minimalist, it does not look particularly stylish. This is a problem, as it does not look like an index of news articles related to a particular topic. However, this does not necessarily mean that the website is bad - I am a huge fan of minimalistic site design.
The downside, however, is that Yahoo Movies currently lacks the ability to browse through movie trailers and clips. This would be an especially handy feature for those who want to preview a movie before deciding whether or not to watch it.
After discussing the pros and cons of design in various applications, I find Yahoo Movies? infinite scroll to be a really nice touch. It eliminates the need to constantly click through pages, making it much more convenient.
Content
The articles that Yahoo Movies publishes come from a variety of sources. Some of these sources work for Yahoo Movies, while others are popular media sources such as Variety, Entertainment Weekly, People, and Insider. Together, this creates a hybrid form of original content, search engine, and online news crawler. I believe that this is where Yahoo Movies shines the most - by combining a broad range of content in one place.
Many people find Yahoo Movies to be an informative and comprehensive source of entertainment news. It has a large number of articles to choose from, and they are always up-to-date with the latest news. This makes it a credible and reliable source for information on movies and TV shows.
You will be able to find trailers for upcoming movies, reviews, awards show coverage and movie recommendations in addition to news.
Desktop and Mobile Experience
Perhaps you will find the more spartan and sterile design of Yahoo Movies to be enjoyable. Type A personalities might fall in love with it. I am, however, aggressively type B and so, I want everything to be artistic and experiential. But if you are merely here for the information, the desktop experience might be right up your alley.
As far as the mobile experience is concerned, there is no dedicated app solely to Yahoo Movies. Instead, you will probably be best off downloading the Yahoo all in one app. This will give you access to Yahoo mail, news, and sports. Sure, it won't be quite as streamlined as if there was a specific place devoted to just the movies (or even just the entertainment section) of Yahoo, but it will get you there with a bit of clicking around.
Pricing and Plans
Yahoo Movies is completely free, with no monthly fees or membership prices. You only pay for ads, which thankfully are not as intrusive or commonplace as some other sites.
Suggestions that I have for Yahoo Movies
I think it's about time that Yahoo found a way to reinvent themselves. This would be one way to do it.