Last Thoughts On the Final Demise of Associated Content, Yahoo! Voices and the Yahoo! Contributor Network

Back in November 30, 2011 I posted an article which started with these words:  “November 30, 2011. Today is the last day of Associated Content (AC).”

Actually it really wasn’t, AC was only (practically) renamed and of course revamped (for better or for worse) as Yahoo! Voices.

Less than three years later, or on July 2, 2014, we the contributors of Y!CN (where Yahoo! Voices was housed) received this dreadful email, to say the least.

Dear Contributors,

You made the past nine years incredible. At Yahoo, we’re focused on making daily habits more inspiring and entertaining. That means we’re constantly reviewing our products and experiences and, in some cases, we have to make tough decisions to no longer support a product. As part of our ongoing effort to sharpen our focus, on July 31, 2014, Voices.Yahoo.com will be shut down; on August 15, we will make the final Performance Payment before Contributor.Yahoo.com closes. With the exception of content you provided to Yahoo under a work for hire license, or unless Yahoo arranges differently with you, we will remove from Yahoo all content published through Yahoo Contributor Network and rights for all of your Yahoo Contributor Network content will revert to you.

We know you have a lot of questions. Please refer to this FAQ for details.

It has been such an incredible privilege to share your talents with the world over these past nine years. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

-The Yahoo Contributor Network Team

I haven’t learned my lesson, how many times have Yahoo! failed me but still I keep on coming back to it. I had my first Yahoo! Email account back in its early days and I still use it today. But other than that, I can’t say the same for the other Yahoo! Services I have used since then.

Now with this latest closure, I have counted nine Yahoo! Services that I have used which have since seized to exist.

Let me list it here:

1.      Yahoo 360°  - Closed down on July 13, 2009

I am among the first souls to use this service and we had a good run of about four years. When 360 closed, Yahoo! gave us the option to transfer our 360 blogs to Wordpress, which I did and they are still there.

2.      Multiply - Closed down on May 31, 2013

Nothing much to say except that I used Multiply sparingly alongside 360.

3.      Associated Content (AC) - Closed down November 30, 2011. Renamed Yahoo! Voices (Yahoo! bought AC in May 19, 2010).

4.      Yahoo! Voices - Closed down on July 31, 2014.

5.      Yahoo! Contributor Network (Y!CN) - Will shut down on August 31, 2014.

Now, the four other Yahoo! Services that I used which are now extinct were Geocities, Mash, MyBlogLog and Yahoo! HotJobs. There was a Yahoo! photo sharing service but I don’t think I used it along with a handful of other smaller Yahoo! services.

I still have at least five other (non-Yahoo!) sites I write for that is still up and I may just have to publish some of my Yahoo! Voices articles there or of course somewhere else more befitting.

I believe with this latest closing, Yahoo! is suggesting that we use Tumblr but I think I’ll try to skip on this recommendation this time around.

I still use on occasion, Flickr, Yahoo! Fantasy, Yahoo! Answers, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Maps, even Yahoo! Messenger among other Yahoo! services. And who knows how many of these will soon fall by the wayside and how more services in the future.

Anyway to AC, to Voices and to Y!CN, goodbye and it sure was fun (and memorable) while it lasted.

Notes:

Associated Content was started in January 2005 by Luke Beatty

GeoCities was founded by David Bohnett and John Rezner in 1994. In 1999 it was acquired byYahoo!.

MyBlogLog was started by Scott Rafer and Eric Marcoullier in 2005. It was acquired by Yahoo! In January 2007.

Yahoo! Mash was shutdown on September 28, 2008.

My Last Post on the Y!CN Forums

James Prince - Edited by James Prince on 08/12/2014 12:54AM
Posts: 1490 Joined: 3/11/2011

I have been very busy of late and the days I had time, I have deliberately stayed away from participating in the forums. I'm not mad just sad.

In fact I was sad enough one night, I wrote an article about the closing of YV and YCN. Don't know yet where to publish it so any suggestions would be great.

I do check in and read a few forum posts most days, but now that the end is near, I do not wish to go without saying thank you to everyone who have helped me in here, you were amazing and an inspiration for me to do the same for others.

To those I've helped in one way or another, just know that it was no biggie, glad to pay it forward.

I'm not sure where I would move the stuff I had published here, but I know it would be in different places (many I will retire or modify to publish like new in places which require not previously published--just don't have the time yet). These should answer some questions I have been receiving.

Also I'll find and try to follow you guys in FB, or the places where you mentioned you are now publishing. Those of you who wish to message me, you can do so at FB.

All the best to all of you and like Lyn said this is not goodbye.

Thank you to all those who became my fans and became my friends, those who subscribed and those who left encouraging comments on the stuff I wrote.

Love you guys!

UPDATE: On August 27, Writers logging into Y!CN would have read this Final Message.

Dear Contributors,

August 27th at 11:59 P.M. Mountain (US) Time the Yahoo Contributor Network will be turned off. Thank you for a very special nine years.

- The Yahoo Contributor Network Team

And  yes, it is finally shutdown. Thanks for the memories.