The digital download: Yahoo axes various content channels and more

News of the week features Yahoo’s new digital strategy, Twitter’s improved search capabilities, ComScore’s cross-platform measurement and Kate Middleton’s role of Huffington Post guest editor.

News of the week features Yahoo’s new digital strategy, Twitter’s improved search capabilities, ComScore’s cross-platform measurement and Kate Middleton’s role of Huffington Post guest editor.

With almost half of Yahoo’s content assets out this week, there was widespread gloom and doom about the company’s future.

Yahoo terminates around 15 content verticals

Yahoo is shutting down a big chunk of its digital magazines, including Yahoo Food, Yahoo Health, Yahoo Parenting, Yahoo Makers, Yahoo Travel, Yahoo Autos and Yahoo Real Estate.

This decision responds to Yahoo’s simplified content strategy that focuses on its four most successful content areas: News, Sports, Finance and Lifestyle, Martha Nelson, the company’s global editor in chief, said in a post.

As a result, a number of employees will be laid off while some — including former New York Times columnist David Pogue — will be moved to the news vertical.

We sort of expected Yahoo’s downsizing as it is reportedly planning to sell its core business. Can Marissa Mayer turn the company around and make Yahoo great again? Only time will tell.

Twitter makes GIF search easier

Last year, 100 million GIFs were shared on Twitter. So in the coming weeks the social network is rolling out GIF search to every user on iOS, Android, and the Twitter website.

Whenever a user writes a tweet or direct message, he or she can directly search and browse the GIF library, as shown below:

Aside from GIF search, Twitter added a new feature to direct messages, letting user record and share video content. Previously, only images and text messages were allowed.

Apparently, video plays a big role in Twitter’s business. Prior to this new feature, Twitter developed a video ad product called First View where business partners’ ads get the top spot the first time when a user logs into Twitter, for a period of 24 hours.

ComScore rolls out new cross-platform measurement

Through the merge with Rentrak, ComScore is going to unveil a cross-platform TV measurement service this April.

The new service will provide information about viewing on TV and connected devices every month. ComScore will also develop a syndicated cross-media service showing daily data across the industry.

ComScore’s new product will undoubtedly pose a threat to Nielsen who has been dominating TV measurement for decades. WPP’s media buying arm GroupM will experiment with Comscore’s local TV measurement for trading in around 90 percent of markets.

Vimeo adds Chromecast support to its Android app

Vimeo will finally support Chromecast service through its Android app, a functionality made available to iOS around a year ago.

Chromecast is Google’s dongle-based media player which can be plugged into TV’s HDMI port and then lets viewers “cast” digital assets — video, music and still images — from their mobile devices to TV.

In order to take advantage of this new feature, Vimeo users must first launch a video clip in full screen and then tap the Chromecast icon. The user will be able to continue browsing Vimeo’s content on mobile while the video is playing on TV.

The Duchess of Cambridge becomes guest editor of Huffington Post

The British royal family is well liked and well received on social and in real life. This week Duchess Kate was in the media spotlight yet again because she took a high-profile role of guest editor for Huffington Post.

In her new position, The Duchess of Cambridge already published an article on children’s mental health. Going forward the young royal will write more children-related pieces for the online publication via her #YoungMindsMatter campaign.

Huffington Post guest editor aside, the duchess is working on several mental-health projects.  This past Wednesday, she became a patron of the Anna Freud Centre, a British mental-health charity.

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