Yahoo Mail’s full post RSS reader

by Scott on November 29, 2005

As you can probably guess, I’m a big fan of My Yahoo! And use it as the primary way I keep up with RSS feeds and all sorts of other content. I love it because I can quickly see all my news at a glance in a format of my own choosing. And lots of people agree, its the number one RSS aggregator out there. But, even though over 25 million people use My Yahoo! we’ve wanted to take RSS to an even bigger audience.

Enter Yahoo! Mail. Tonight we are launching a full post rss reader in the new Yahoo Mail beta. If you are in the beta, you’ll automatically get the new features.

RSS in mail makes perfect sense for a few reasons: 1) people already spend a lot of time in their Mail experience, why shouldn’t personally relevant content be there too 2) While you read RSS you are probably gonna want to forward good stuff you find 3) Hundreds of millions of users use Yahoo Mail, so if we want to reach the masses, we need to go where they are.

And, its cool to realize that we are the first major webmail service to offer an RSS reader integrated into the experience.

If you are in the beta check it out, if you are not yet I think they are planning on adding more users soon, so be sure that you are on the waiting list.

In the mean time though, I thought I’d share some screenshots of what it looks like.

The New Yahoo! Mail Interface – email view

The folder area on the new Yahoo Mail, showing the new RSS Feeds
(it uses the same subscriptions you’ve set up on My Yahoo! or if you don’t use My, you can add feeds here, also notice the little gleam next to a feed if there’s new content since you last checked)

A view of how Scripting News looks in the RSS reader
(notice the full posts, and notice how it realizes the first post is new and the others are marked as “Previously Viewed Posts” with a subtle grey color)

After clicking on an engadget post, I hit forward, and it forwards a post as an email, even uses my addressbook with autocomplete.

I can also drag and drop a post into one of my folders to save for later

We’ve been working on this for a long time, and its finally nice to share it with you. Overall, its another great step in bringing RSS to the masses. We already have a list of things we want to do next, but I can’t wait for the feedback to start coming in from the beta testers.

(BTW, it uses the same RSS backend as My Yahoo, so if you are already pinging us and if you feed is already in My Yahoo, it’ll work just fine in Mail.)

UPDATE: Be sure to read my post about the new Yahoo! Alerts RSS integration, which we also launched.

From → Industry, Yahoo!

http://podtech.wordpress.com/2005/11/30/yahoo-rss-launch-event-tonight-in-sf/ PodTech Comments from the PodTech Gallery » Yahoo RSS Launch Event Tonight in SF

[...] Scott Gatz who I interviewed today has a post on his personal blog.Â Charlene Li has a post as well.Â [...]
http://www.moskalyuk.com/blog/yahoo-adds-rss-to-yahoo-mail/911 >> Yahoo! adds RSS to Yahoo! Mail @ Alex Moskalyuk Online

[...] TechCrunch has a preview. Scott Gatz also points out you can save RSS items into Yahoo! Mail folders. There’s also a story at CNET News.com. Charlene Li from Forrester Research is thrilled. SoftTechVC doesn’t like the tight integration between Yahoo! Mail and My Yahoo! [...]
http://www.micropersuasion.com/2005/11/yahoo_mail_to_s.html Micro Persuasion

Yahoo Mail to Support RSS Reading

Scott Gatz at Yahoo says that the latest â€œbuildâ€ of the Yahoo Mail beta will include a full post RSS reader. Technorati Tags: Yahoo
http://www.todorss.com/?p=365 RSS Haciendo facil lo simple : Noticias RSS | Directorio RSS | Marketing RSS | Consultor RSS | RSS en EspaÃ±ol » Blog Archive » Yahoo Mail Beta posee un lector RSS incorporado

[...] SegÃºn el blog de Scott Gatz Yahoo Mail Beta provee de un lector RSS, dentro del Ã¡rea dedicada a los folders han agregado una mÃ¡s para poder colocar los feeds, aunque segÃºn Steve Rubel le falta algunas caracterÃsticas como marcar items leidos y no, asi mismo lo compara con herramientas como NewsGator o Thunderbird. [...]
http://webosphere.wordpress.com/2005/11/30/yahoo-mailbeta-support-rss-feeds/ Webosphere : Internet, RSS, web 2.0 » Yahoo MailBeta support RSS feeds

[...] Yahoo Mail Beta is supporting RSS feeds as we can see in photos below : [...]
http://mitch.lockergnome.net/blog/_archives/2005/11/30/1428509.html Mitchelaneous

Morning Coffee – PSP Update, Yahoo! Mail Loves RSS

I am truly excited about the newest PlayStation Portable update. I think Russell Beattie’s reaction is the closest to my own as well. Sure, it didn’t include Flash or any other browser improvements I would have liked to have seen. The RSS Channel i…
http://learfieldcreative.typepad.com David Brazeal

This is great news for everyone not named Google. And in the long run, it’s probably great news for Google, too. People like to complain that RSS is too cumbersome to be a widely used tool. That’s true to a certain extent, but I’m pretty certain it won’t stay that way. Yahoo! and the other big players have a huge incentive to make sure people understand RSS — or, more accurately, to make sure people can use it whether they understand it or not. The hand-wringing over RSS’s viabililty is short-sighted and tends to under-estimate the speed of innovation and the drive of competition in the industry right now.
http://blog.medianima.com/index.php/2005/11/30/18/38/yahoo-mail-conterra-anche-un-reader-rss Medianima Blog » Yahoo Mail conterrÃ anche un reader RSS

[...] Scott Ganz, dipendente Yahoo, nel suo blog dichiara esattamente che il servizio RSS Ã¨ stato definitivamente rilasciato come beta. In questo modo chi prossimamente andrÃ su Yahoo per leggere la posta potrÃ approfittarne anche per osservare le proprie news RSS. [...]
http://gigaom.com/2005/11/30/oddposts-rss-lives-again-in-yahoo-mail/ Om Malik on Broadband : » OddPost’s RSS Lives Again in Yahoo Mail

[...] OddPost’s RSS Lives Again in Yahoo Mail. Charlene Li has more. John podcasts the whole thing. Here is proof of OddPost heritage. Scott Gatz explains why he loves his own dog food and writes, “its cool to realize that we are the first major webmail service to offer an RSS reader integrated into the experience.” Goowy does the same thing, though in a flash interface. Paul Kedrosky is wondering why the hell there is so much hubbab around this? And there are an awful lot of other RSS readers out there, many of which that are much more feature-rich than Yahoo’s product. Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with Yahoo’s RSS reader/folder — and it’s much better than Google’s broken stab at the area. But why people are engaging in such frothy fan-boy behavior is a complete baffler. [...]
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/rss_everywhere.php Read/WriteWeb

RSS Everywhere II – but where is Google?

Last night Yahoo! announced they are integrating RSS into their web mail and alerts products. As Scott Gatz explained in an interview with PodTech: Yahoo’s plan, which started in January 2004 when they launched RSS in the My Yahoo portal,…
http://blog.nooked.com/archives/2005/11/yahoo_rss.htm Nooked Blog

Yahoo + RSS

Bradley Horowitz mentioned this today (check here). Yahoo embraces RSS Again – this is great news. RSS support in Yahoo Mail/Alerts – roll on the 100 million Yahoo Email users… I bet this figure of 275 Million will be different…
Dave P

I am happy to see what Yahoo is doing with their services. Keep up the good work. I just wish that you could use Outlook with Yahoo with out paying for it. Keep up the good work Yahoo! Staff
http://www.mathewingram.com/work/?p=67 mathewingram.com/work

What’s the big deal with Yahoo and RSS?

As TechCrunch’s Mike Arrington was one of the first to report, Yahoo is integrating RSS feeds into its new Ajax-powered Yahoo Mail (which is based in large part on Oddpost, the webmail company Yahoo acquired last year) and into its My Yahoo news…
http://www.teach42.com/2005/11/30/yahoo-mail-gets-rss/ Teach42 – Education and Technology, brought to you by Steve Dembo Â» Blog Archive » Yahoo mail gets RSS.

[...] Yahoo announced today that they’ve built an RSS aggregator in to Yahoo Mail. Since it’s only available to people in the Beta, I couldn’t try it out but it looks pretty darn sweet. Yes, you can read your RSS feeds in the same place you read your email. Yes, it’s a full fledged aggregator, so you can just click on a feed and read whatever new content is there. It looks incredibly easy to forward articles on (and obviously you can use your address book and groups to do so), and you can also drag and drop blog posts into your regular mail folders. I dig that feature big time. [...]
http://www.mediafact.nl/weblog.php?id=P10675 MarketingFacts :: dagelijks de nieuwste feiten & cijfers

[...] Tweakers: De betaversie van Yahoo Mail is voorzien van de functionaliteit om RSS-feeds te lezen en te beheren. Volgens de ontwikkelaars van deze feature is Yahoo hiermee de eerste grote speler die e-mail en RSS via één webapplicatie aanbiedt. Marco | Dec 01, 05 | 8:04 am | 0 comments | 0 views [...]
http://www.ihre-denkfabrik.de/16/social-software/denkfabrik/yahoo-mail-mit-rss-reader.html Ihre Denkfabrik zu Social Software » Blog Archive » YAhoo-Mail mit RSS-Reader

[...] Der Yahoo-Mitarbeiter Scott Gatz kÃ¼ndigt auf seinen Blog die Integration eines RSS-Readers in Yahoo-Mail an: RSS in mail makes perfect sense for a few reasons: 1) people already spend a lot of time in their Mail experience, why shouldnâ€™t personally relevant content be there too 2) While you read RSS you are probably gonna want to forward good stuff you find 3) Hundreds of millions of users use Yahoo Mail, so if we want to reach the masses, we need to go where they are. [...]
http://www.content.shoppic.de/blog/index.php/archives/2005/12/01/yahoo-mail-nun-mit-rss-reader/ » Yahoo Mail nun mit RSS reader Suchmaschinen News

[...] Mehr dazu hier und Screenshots hier [...]
http://afeedisborn.com/?p=4 A Feed Is Born » Blog Archive » Yahoo mail incorporates RSS

[...] Sounds good! Take a look at some screenshots or get on the beta waiting list. [...]
http://www.scottgatz.com/blog/2005/12/01/rss-alerts/ Scott Gatz’s Blog » RSS Alerts

[...] Yesterday, we put out TWO new products. One was the much blogged about/talked about RSS Reader in the new Yahoo! Mail. The other, was the ability to get IM, SMS or Email alerts to any RSS Feed out there. We call it Feed/Blog Alerts and its live now on http://alerts.yahoo.com/ [...]
http://justaddwater.dk/?p=30 justaddwater.dk » Blog Archive » Yahoo! alerts to support RSS

[...] It’s very interesting to hear that the new yahoo mail will have an RSS reader built into it. Currently they only included it in the limited beta programme. Scott Gatz has a screenshot of the mail client [...]
http://www.connected-web.com/2005/12/yahoo_1.html Connected Web

Yahoo!

Es ist ein ziemlich offenes Geheimnis, dass ich nicht erst seit dieser Begegnung auf der IAA diesen Jahres, ein groÃŸer Fan von Yahoo! bin und die Entwicklungen in dieser Firma spÃ¤testens seitdem sie Flickr gekauft haben, interessiert verfolge. Da fin…
http://jeremiahthewebprophet.blogspot.com/ Jeremiah

Scott, pretty interesting stuff, I’ve written my thoughts about it here,

I really think that Yahoo is playing to it’s strengths now

http://jeremiahthewebprophet.blogspot.com/2005/12/yahoo-plays-to-its-strengths-its-about.html
http://web20blog.com/?p=9 Weekly Round-up #3 » Web 2.0 Blog

[...] Yahoo integrates RSS into the new Yahoo Mail beta [...]
http://hoffbauer.wordpress.com/2005/12/05/yahoo-integrates-rss-into-email-and-alerts-r/ Hoffbauer » Yahoo integrates RSS into email and alerts – R…

[...] Senior Director of Personalization Products at Yahoo! Scott Gatz explained: http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=70&part=rss&tag=feed&subj=zdblog [...]
http://mathewingram.wordpress.com/2005/11/30/whats-the-big-deal-with-yahoo-and-rss/ mathewingram.com/work » Blog Archive » What’s the big deal with Yahoo and RSS?

[...] But is it a good way? Maybe so. Some people sure seem to like the idea, including Charlene Li of Forrester Research, who says it’s just what she’s been waiting for. Even the often grumpy Dave Winer says that Yahoo has “hit a home run.” Michael Parekh seems to like the move as well, although Steve Rubel of Micropersuasion says it still has a few kinks that need to be worked out. Scott Gatz really likes it a lot, but then he works for Yahoo. [...]
http://www.quietrevolutioninemail.com/archive/2005/12/live_from_syndi.html The Quiet Revolution in Email Marketing

Live From Syndicate

I arrived in San Francisco last night for the RSS industry’s premier event, the Syndicate conference. Whether you’re a publisher, tech firm or marketer, this gathering is the center of the RSS universe. My colleague, Scott Voigt, and I had…
http://www.syndicatorblog.com/2005/12/15/last-night-announcement-yahoos-rss-in-email/ Syndicator blog » Blog Archive » Last Night Announcement: Yahoo!’s RSS in Email

[...] Scott Gatz, one of Yahoo!’s leaders on RSS usage throughout Yahoo!’s products, has details on how Yahoo! Mail is integrating RSS feeds directly into the mail system – the first major free email platform to do so at this level. The screenshots are great and paint a clear picture of how Yahoo! intends to bring RSS ot the masses in just about every weay possible. [...]
http://boulter.com/blog/?p=323 Jeff Boulter’s Weblog » Blog Archive » Yahoo!’s 2005: The Year of the Product

[...] Jan 10 Desktop Search released Jan 20 My Yahoo Ticker released Feb 2 Y!Q released Feb 9 Yahoo Toolbar for Firefox released Feb 28 Yahoo! Developer Network launched with Yahoo! Search Web Services March 10 Mobile RSS launched March 21 Flickr acquired Mar 23 Creative Commons Search released Mar 28 Yahoo! 360 released Apr 4 Farechase Hotel Search released Apr 18 Yahoo! Shopping RSS feeds Apr 26 My Web 1.0 released Apr 27 News Redesign released May 4 Video Search released May 10 Yahoo! Music Engine and Yahoo! Music Unlimited released May 18 Yahoo! Messenger Beta released May 25 Yahoo! Movies Recommendations launches May 26 PhotoMail launches Jun 6 Yahoo! Auctions becomes free Jun 14 Blo.gs acquired Jun 15 Dialpad acquired Jun 16 Subscriptions Search launches Jun 28 My Web 2.0 released Jun 30 Maps API released July 6 Mobile SMS services released July 15 Yahoo! Finance RSS feeds released July 25 Konfabulator acquired Aug 2 Yahoo! Publisher Network released Aug 2 Shopping API released Aug 3 Audio Search Beta released Aug 12 Yahoo! Video Games redesign released Aug 13 40% of Alibaba acquired Aug 15 Health Blogs released Aug 16 Yahoo! Local redesign released Aug 23 Verizon Yahoo! DSL released Aug 29 Yahoo! Mail Search Improvements Aug 30 RSS feeds from Yahoo! Weather released Sep 12 Kevin Sites in the Hotzone released Sep 13 Mobile Shopping Search released Sep 15 Yahoo! Mail Beta released (based on Oddpost) Sep 26 Yahoo! Finance columnists Oct 5 Upcoming.org acquired Oct 9 Yahoo! Podcasts released Oct 10 Blog Search released Oct 18 Whereonearth acquired Oct 24 Richard Bangs Adventures released Oct 26 Travel Trip Planner released Oct 31 Yahoo! Autos Custom released Nov 2 Yahoo! Maps Beta released Nov 7 Yahoo! Photos, Weather and Traffic available on TiVo Dec 7 Yahoo! Answers released Dec 9 Del.icio.us acquired Nov 14 Shoposphere released Nov 29 RSS Reader in Yahoo! Mail Beta released Dec 1 Blog Alerts released Dec 12 Konfabulator upgraded and relaunched as Yahoo! Widgets [...]
http://libraryclips.blogsome.com/2006/01/18/email-client-rss-adoption/ Library clips

Email client: RSS adoption…

Is reading RSS feeds in an email client easier for adoption for web users at large, Newsgator have their outlook version, as do Attensa, and IntraVnews.
As everyone knows by now, this is now being adopted in webmail clients like Yahoo! Mail, I also p…
chiru

can i open my yahoo mail in other RSS readers?
if so can u just tell me how
http://www.scottgatz.com/ scottgatz

Chiru,

no, Yahoo mail doesn’t offer RSS feeds, you’ll have to read your mail in the yahoo mail interface or use POP to access your mail (if you are Mail Plus user)
Simon

The images on this post are broken
http://blog.nooked.com/yahoo_rss/ nooked™ – really simple shopping

[...] Charlene Li of Forrester has coverage, as well as Podtech. Check out Yahoo RSS Guru – Scott Gatz on his blog post [...]
http://everwas.com/2005/11/yahoo_integrates_rss_into_mail_client.html Yahoo integrates RSS into Mail client — everwas

[...] RSS reading is going to be integrated into the next version of Yahoo Mail which is out in limited beta (to get on the beta list, go to What’s New with Yahoo! Mail). John Furrier sat down to talk with Scott Gatz and Ethan Diamond of Yahoo who both played a big part in the integration. Scott has also posted a couple of screenshots so you can see what it looks like). [...]
http://trafficsecretsunleashed.blogspot.com Traffic Secrets Unleashed Review

I always see that the number of RSS subscribers is made to be an important factor in figuring a blogs value. A lot of so called experts say that each RSS subscriber is equal to $30. This is how folks flipping blogs largely determine the value of a blog. My question is why?
Who are the folks that subscribe to an RSS feed? I would think that it is mostly internet savvy people right? I personally subscribe to only a few RSS feeds as I would rather go to the blog. A blog has a feel to it and you can’t get that from an RSS feed. I don’t want to get a cup of coffee to read my feeds but I will if I go to the blog. Sounds kinda silly I know but I’m trying to get my point across about a blog having a ‘feel’. Why do people subscribe to feeds? The better question is why do people unsubscribe to feeds. I think most folks unsubscribe not because of things like posting frequency or content value, but rather because most people stop checking their feeds.

Is RSS reading really all that big? Somehow I get the feeling that feeds are not as important as many make them out to be. I could be wrong (I have no problem admitting that) but I just don’t know what all the fuss is about.

Sorry for the long winded comment…just had these thoughts on my mind.
ProGasCasMash

I have been reading here for a while now and thought it would only be fair to register and contribute instead of being a silent reader. So – I am looking forward to be a full part of the community!

Take care!

ProGasCasMash

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Yahoo Mail’s full post RSS reader

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