Home Yahoo Inserts Facebook Profiles Into Search Results

Yahoo Inserts Facebook Profiles Into Search Results

Google may be outperforming Yahoo Search in terms of market share, but with programs like Search Monkey and BOSS (Build Your Own Search Service), Yahoo is still trying to innovate in the search space. Today, Yahoo announced a new feature that integrates Yahoo Search with some of Facebook‘s core functions. Whenever you see a Facebook profile in your search results, you can now directly add somebody as a friend, send messages, see their friends, or poke them.

In order for this to work, you have to first activate the Facebook SearchMonkey app and be signed in to Facebook. Update: The SearchMonkey app is actually turned on by default for all Yahoo Search users now (but you can opt out at any time).

After that, whenever a Facebook profile appears in your search results, it will include this person’s public profile picture, as well as an additional line with the basic Facebook commands (add friend, poke, send message, view friends). According to Yahoo, Facebook shared this structured data with the SearchMonkey app by adding semantic markup to its public profile pages.

Maybe more importantly, though, features like this show that there is still a lot of life left in Yahoo Search. As Marshall Kirkpatrick noted a few weeks ago, things may not be looking too rosy for Yahoo in business terms, but the company is at least trying out a lot of cool search-related technologies.

About ReadWrite’s Editorial Process

The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Get the biggest tech headlines of the day delivered to your inbox

    By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe anytime.

    Tech News

    Explore the latest in tech with our Tech News. We cut through the noise for concise, relevant updates, keeping you informed about the rapidly evolving tech landscape with curated content that separates signal from noise.

    In-Depth Tech Stories

    Explore tech impact in In-Depth Stories. Narrative data journalism offers comprehensive analyses, revealing stories behind data. Understand industry trends for a deeper perspective on tech's intricate relationships with society.

    Expert Reviews

    Empower decisions with Expert Reviews, merging industry expertise and insightful analysis. Delve into tech intricacies, get the best deals, and stay ahead with our trustworthy guide to navigating the ever-changing tech market.