Yahoo began rolling out updates
to its mobile application and home page Thursday. While the redesign focuses on content, continuity, personalization, social experience, and the ability to track stories of interest, the real focus
remains on making site users feel they have a voice as part of a community. If successful, that community will drive up search queries and advertising.
Yahoo will attempt to create a community
by allowing site visitors and app users to discover and carry out conversations around content and easily share it.
"With tens of millions of you sharing your views daily as part of our
vibrant community, we want to amplify your voice," writes Simon Khalaf, SVP of publisher products at Yahoo. "We’ve made it easier for you to share your thoughts, engage and converse with each
other about a particular topic or story."
The update renders comments directly in-line, making it easy to share and hear reactions from others in the "community."
Users can sift
through more content in less time because there is no need to open individual articles in multiple browser tabs. Instead, the user will scroll through related stories inline.
The editors'
picks at the top of the page highlight some of the most important stories, alongside the most relevant content.
For a more in-depth understanding of a story, see related stories by clicking
the “heart” icon, or clicking through to find additional related stories below each article. The stream learns from the clicks.
Khalaf says mobile trends guided the redesign for
the Web home page and iOS and Android apps.
In 2015, news and magazine apps usage alone grew 141%, per a Flurry trend report. Yahoo attributes the growth to an interest in discovering,
consuming and engaging around great content from around the Web.
While changes should benefit those using the Web site or app, in turn those benefits should, in theory, produce higher profits
for Yahoo. A Yahoo spokesperson says the update increases consumer engagement, which means more time for ads to be seen and engaged with while on the site.