My Yahoo! Blog

So…Whaddyathink? Part 1

Should I get the new iPhone 3G S? Hmm. I don’t know. One the one hand it has a lot of cool new features, but I’m still not sure about the cost. I have wanted one for a long time, though. But there’s a reason I haven’t taken the plunge … right?

End the indecision! Ask your friends what they think easily and efficiently using the new My Yahoo! app Whaddyathink?

How? Simply add the Whaddyathink? app to your page and then follow these simple steps:

1) Once it’s on your page, click the “Create A New Poll!” link to go the the app’s “full view”. This will take you to a page with the title “Create a new Poll”. Now you can create a simple opinion poll for our friends!
2) In the “What would you like to ask?” field, type a question that’s been on your mind. Let’s use the example above, “Should I get the new iPhone 3G S?”
3) In the “What category does your poll fit in?” section, pick a category that best suits your question. For the iPhone question, we’ll go with the “Computers” category.
4) In the “Choices” section, enter possible answers. For our example, “Yes” and “No” will be perfect.
5) When you’re satisfied with your settings, click the “Submit” button and you’re done!

After submitting this form, you’ll be taken to the results for your newly created poll. As expected (unless your friends with lightning quick reflexes have already voted), you will not see any results yet.

Now that we’ve covered voting, let’s explore the results this app delivers, starting with the small view. Click the “My Results” tab in app on your My Yahoo! page to see a summary of your results from the small view. If you want to dive deeper, including a breakdown of who voted and how, click the Whaddyathink? logo at the top of the small view, which will quickly take you to the full view of the app.

In the full view of the app, results for a poll are broken into three sections: categorical summaries, a graphical representation of votes, and a listing of who cast each vote. The categorical summaries include the “Most thumbs up”, “Most thumbs down”, and “Most controversial” results visible in the small view, and also “Highest participation”, “Lowest participation”, “Highest overall”, and “Top performer”. If the “Most thumbs up ” and “Most thumbs down” categories are equal, check the “Most controversial” section to help break the tie.

The graph portion of the results shows the total number of votes for each choice. Roll your mouse over the bars in the graph to get a reminder of what they represent. Roll over the points on the line to see the data represented by each point.

In the vote listings, the icon and name for the voter link to the voter’s profile page. A voter may vote up and down for different choices, and you can see these responses reading horizontally for each voter.

Now you know how to create a simple opinion poll on My Yahoo! and analyze your results, you can build your own! Check back next week for details on how to vote and invite your friends to participate. So, Whaddyathink?

Erik Eldridge
Whaddyathink? team member

How smart are you really?

Are you tired of working? Have you checked your email for the thousandth time? Are you bored of chatting online? I’ve got something to cheer you up and throw your boredom out the window. It’s a new app called, Hey Einstein. This app offers a wealth of different quizzes to test your knowledge of topics from the Seven Wonders of the World, historical facts, or even a quiz on shark attacks! This is not your average online quiz, it’s challenging, fun, and you never know… you could be a genius!?

One of the great features in this application is that you can see how you stack up against your friends and connections. This feature really brings a competitive edge to the game – so try not to cheat by checking Yahoo! Answers when challenging your friends (wink wink).

Whether or not you are a history buff or science fanatic, this new app will provide you with daily entertainment. So, if you’re in the mood for a brain teaser and some wide ranging trivia then give Hey Einstein a try – you won’t be disappointed.

Josephine
- My Yahoo! Marketing

Pump it up.

Summer is officially here. You can always tell when the summer season has arrived because the gas prices start to rise. How do I know that gas prices are rising? Keep reading. If you’re like many people who have chosen a stay-cation or short weekend trip for your summer break, I have something that will come in handy.

My Yahoo! has a new app called the “Gas Buddy”. Essentially, this app provides you with a quick glance at the cheapest gas prices in your area so you can save on your pocketbook. You can also view interactive historical gas charts and gas price temperature maps so you can easily keep up to date. I find it interesting to check out our gas prices over the past 2 years. We’ve really been on a roller coaster!

Now, you can sign into your My Yahoo! page, find out where to fill up your tank, and see if it’s a good idea to go on a road trip this weekend. With the current economic climate, what more could you ask for? C’mon you know you want to try it…

Josephine
- My Yahoo! Marketing

Try our mint.

During these tough economic times, it’s more important than ever for working parents like me to manage our finances wisely. So, I was really excited to hear that Mint.com was building a new personal finance app for My Yahoo!. My husband and I have been using the Mint service for over a year, and we have found the service incredibly useful for managing our family’s finances.

When I installed the Mint Personal Finance app , I was impressed by the amount of personal financial information I could see on my My Yahoo! homepage. I can now see how I’m doing as far as cash vs. credit card debt, alerts on unusual financial activities, and a breakdown of all my spending by category. I can even see how my investments are performing against the S&P 500.

But, perhaps one of the most useful aspects of this app is its ability to help me stay on track with my budget. One of the most challenging items on my monthly budget is food, because it’s just so easy to eat out a lot. Now, I can use the Mint app to stay on track by checking the budget graph. Judging by the graph, it looks like I can still afford to go out for a nice meal in June, given I’m still in the green for restaurants and groceries!

In addition to giving me a useful and accurate snapshot of my financial health, the Mint app also protects my privacy. I really appreciate how the app doesn’t reveal any of my personal account balances or bank info, since all of the information within the Mint app is displayed as relative trends and percentages. I don’t have to worry about a co-worker or customer seeing my checking account balances if I happen to leave My Yahoo! on my screen. And, if I want to see all of my detailed financial information in private, I can click into my Mint.com account from the canvas view of the app.

It’s great to have a new app on My Yahoo! that helps me manage my money quickly and safely. Whether you are new to Mint or already a user of the service, I recommend that you check out their new app on My Yahoo!.

Julie
- Yahoo! Developer Network

What’s cookin’ on My Yahoo!?

If you’re a serious foodie, a wine enthusiast, or just interested in either, we’ve got something new that I think you’ll love. Thanks to the nice folks at Snooth, we have a new app called “What’s Cookin’ – Food & Wine Pairing”. This easy to use app allows you to find a ton of different recipes and the perfect wine pairing to go with it. In addition, if you have been saving that perfect bottle of wine for a special occasion (like me) but are unsure of what to serve with it, this app will provide you with a solution. Bingo!

What’s great about this app is that it provides you with a lot of options. Have a specific dish in mind? You can search for particular dishes or wines or even stay within a specified budget. Need help deciding what to eat and drink? You’ll get suggestions with the highest rated food pairings and most popular recipes of the day. Plus, you can bookmark the links to your favorite wines and recipes so you can go back to them at any time.

For those of you who are interested in the developers that built this app, here’s a little background on the company. Snooth is a well-known wine site that allows you to quickly search for, compare, and purchase wine online. They are famous for their wine pairings, wealth of information, and community of wine lovers, amateurs and connoisseurs alike.

Now, try the app. Bon Appétit!

Josephine
- My Yahoo! Marketing