Well it's completely official on both sides, MSN/Yahoo! will be the biggest consumer IM community in the world with interoperability. (not merger, please rename the topic).......
quote:
Originally posted by Microsoft
Microsoft and Yahoo! Announce Landmark Interoperability Agreement to Connect Consumer Instant Messaging Communities Globally
Consumers will be able to exchange instant messages, see presence, share emoticons and add friends from Yahoo! Messenger or MSN Messenger.
SUNNYVALE, Calif., and REDMOND, Wash. — Oct. 12, 2005 — Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: “MSFT”) today announced a landmark agreement to connect users of their consumer instant messaging (IM) services on a global basis. The industry’s first interoperability agreement between two distinct leading global consumer IM providers will give MSN® Messenger and Yahoo!® Messenger users the ability to interact with each other, forming what is expected to be the largest consumer IM community in the world, estimated to be more than 275 million strong.
Being able to instant message between IM communities is one of the features most requested by MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger users, and Microsoft and Yahoo! share a commitment to provide IM interoperability while keeping consumer security and privacy first and foremost. In addition to exchanging instant messages, consumers from both communities will be able to see their friends’ online presence, share select emoticons, and easily add new contacts from either service to their friends’ list, all as part of their free IM service.* Yahoo! and Microsoft plan to introduce these interconnectivity capabilities between MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger to customers around the world in the second quarter of 2006, and in doing so expect to help make IM an even more useful part of consumers’ online communications and communities.
“Yahoo! and Microsoft share a commitment to providing the highest-quality experience possible for consumers, and today’s groundbreaking announcement underscores our desire to provide consumer interoperability between our thriving IM communities,” said Terry Semel, chief executive officer, Yahoo! Inc. “This is truly a turning point for the IM industry, and we believe our agreement with Microsoft will help usher in a new era of IP communications.”
“Microsoft and Yahoo! look forward to bridging the divide between our global communities, creating richer and easier ways for our customers to connect,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft. “IM interoperability is the right thing for our customers, our businesses and the industry as a whole, and Microsoft is delighted to help lead these efforts with Yahoo!”
And Yahoo has reported about this on there site as well......
quote:
Originally posted by Yahoo!
Group hug! Friends on Yahoo! and MSN can soon share instant messages.
For instant messaging fans, this rates right up there with the Berlin Wall.
Working hand-in-hand with our friends at MSN, we're hammering out a solution to connect our two thriving global IM communities.
Which means soon (we're thinking the first half of 2006), friends on Yahoo! Messenger with Voice and MSN Messenger can see when friends are online, share IMs and emoticons, easily add new contacts from either service to their Messenger Lists, and more.
You've been asking for it.
And now we're delivering the world's largest IM community. It's a wonderful bridge that makes staying in touch easier and more enjoyable for everyone. Hope you can join us.
Perhaps Yahoo! and MSN will improve there programs to refect this (Offline messages, Launchcast, Custom Emoticions, Winks/Audibles, Yahoo Avatars/DDPs, Dynamic Backgrounds/IMVironments....ect ect....
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