Yahoo's Mayer speeds up IntoNow timeline
updated 06:39 pm EDT, Tue July 31, 2012
Second-screen app gets pushed up
Recently-appointed Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is said to have pushed up the development of Yahoo's IntoNow app to get the product out ahead of schedule. The move came as Yahoo fights slumping revenues and attempts to right itself and leverage its user base toward greater profits. As Advertising Age reports, the IntoNow decision was aimed at taking advantage of the product's capabilities during the Olympics, is one of the major early decisions on Mayer's part; and some observers believe it indicates that Yahoo's future will be more product-focused than ever before.
IntoNow allows users to sync their mobile devices with live or recorded television, serving up relevant content as the show progresses and tracking online reactions to the show. Yahoo bought the service last year for between $20 and $30 million.
IntoNow was scheduled to receive another updatein the fall of this year, but Mayer conducted a product review with the IntoNow staff and decided that the update should be released as soon as possible. Mayer is said to have "wildly accelerated" IntoNow's plans, in the hopes of getting the update out in time for this year's Olympics.
The IntoNow acceleration may be indicative of Mayer's style going forward. Reportedly, the new CEO was largely guided by the user experience the new update would bring, and she is said to have advised the IntoNow team to continue improving the user experience of the products they make.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: 07-27-12
So that's why some of the recent versions have been so buggy.