In Race to Top, Yahoo Sees its Future
Recent media coverage has depicted a head to head match up between AOL and Microsoft while competitors seem to fade away. Remaining a distant third in the race to dominate instant messaging, Yahoo has announced that it is adding video support to its IM client. Yahoo remains one of the most visited portal sites, but its IM usuage pales in comparison to the sites overall popularity. This attempt to prop up its lagging user base comes at a time when AOL and Microsoft are aggressively adding new features to their software.
Currently holding the top spot, AOL brands offer a considerable advantage over competitors. In the US alone, over 22 million users partake in AOL's Instant Messenger service. An additional 8 million prefer ICQ. Combined, these two services represent 54% of all instant messenger users. In comparison, Microsoft holds just 26% off the market – although its popularity continues to rise.
Access to AOL's service has been a point of contention with Microsoft and other alternatives to AOL actively supporting a common IM standard. AOL has thus far refused to open up its networks to competitors maintaining what Microsoft Spokesperson Jim Cullinan has referred to as, "its walled garden approach" to product development. Despite criticism, America Online has touted its right to protect its intellectual property and large user base. Recent betas of AIM have introduced new features such as locale based services, and message logging.
MSN Messenger Service has also experienced a sharp gain in popularity, no bundled with Microsoft products such as recent releases of Internet Explorer. Windows XP will include a more powerful IM client dubbed Windows Messenger that ties the functionality of NetMeeting and online content to instant messaging. MSN Instant Messenger has experienced dramatic and steady growth since its introduction and has upwards of 15 million US users as of March, 2001.
According to a competitive analysis by Media Metrix, MSN Messenger dominates the UK Market with 2.5 million users as of March. It enjoys three times the amount of market share as its closest competitor – AOL owned ICQ. If current trends remain steady, MSN IM will also overtake ICQ in Canada as the most popular messaging software. This also holds true for France where MSN users have tripled since September of 2000.
Behind the two corporate giants sits Yahoo, holding a 19% market share in the United States; a user base that equates to 11 million users. Internationally, Yahoo does not fair as well, often failing to acquire a significant portion of its targeted markets.
In an attempt to offer richer, more competitive features, Yahoo has released a new build of its client sporting video messaging. The quality of the video feed is not outstanding however, offering a dismal one frame per second.
Yahoo has also struck a deal with Logitech, offering a discounted QuickCam to its users. The Associated Press reports that Logitech will include Yahoo software with its cameras as early as next month. The California-based Yahoo holds the largest amount of registered users on the Internet, at 192 million. With Windows XP set to be released in October and a plethora of popular brands owned by AOL Time Warner, Yahoo faces stiff competition.
Download the latest release of Yahoo! Messenger with video support via FileForum.