Yahoo! Powered Shortcuts for WordPress

Mashable just pointed my attention to the release of a new WordPress plugin which is particularly interesting regarding my thesis. I am currently writing about the increasing relationship between blog software and the engines. Yahoo! just launched a new plugin for WordPress that pulls in related content to your post. As I skimmed briefly through the Terms of Use (I missed the option of using the Whatever Button) I noticed that

Yahoo! reserves the right to charge fees for future use of or access to the Yahoo! Contextual Shortcuts Modules or the Yahoo! services and Web sites (collectively, “Yahoo! Contextual Shortcuts Modules Services”) in Yahoo!’s sole discretion. If Yahoo! decides to charge for the Yahoo! Contextual Shortcuts Modules Services, such charges will be disclosed to you in advance.

Sure. Whatever. I’ll stop using the plugin then. Not sure if I am actually going to use it because I am not sure if it will be useful for me whatsoever. On top of that I like keeping control over my content and create and use my own content. However, I see the potential for the plugin for news or product oriented blogs.

I am going to give this plugin a try as it connects to my current research on the increasing symbiotic relationship between blog software and blog engines.

The plugin might influence the construction of a blog post as Yahoo gives implicit instructions on how to get the most out of the plugin. If you think in Yahoo content and if you think in Yahoo search terms and “addresses, most public companies (American stock exchanges) including their stock ticker symbols, products, people, cars, and lots more (Yahoo)” it will definitely work for you.

Flickr, a Yahoo company, is also integrated into the suggested content and with just a single click you can easily embed Creative Commons licensed photos into your blog post. What would happen if Yahoo would integrate del.icio.us too? It could use tags to display contextual related (popular) blog posts. A new Sphere competitor?

PS: Not a lot of exciting suggested Shortcuts for this post, that’s for sure.

5 thoughts on “Yahoo! Powered Shortcuts for WordPress

  1. I tried it this morning and it stinks. It hardly finds and technical terms that I use. Also, it was buggy for be. Even though it suggested links they never showed up in the post. It might be a WP 2.2 thing but because the suggestions stink it wasn’t worth the effort to find out.

  2. I am trying this plugin now.. I liked the flickr part a lot :) well, if they are going to charge us for the plugin, then thats the end of it I guess !! for a short time, I thought Yahoo ! is deviating from its normal path, reading your post, I think… they are not

  3. Maybe it’s another Yahoo attempt to enter the blogosphere. Their Yahoo! 360° never seemed to have taken off and their acquisition of the ping server blo.gs also seems to have led nowhere.

    What is Yahoo’s game in the blogging business? Could this be a serious attempt?

  4. I am still confused about it, Anne, and I think Matt and the wp team will be more confused.. its like pleasing US and Russia at the same time lol.. when it comes to Google and Yahoo! .. the cold war :)

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