Yahoo Contacts has just gotten a very useful, new feature, one that could finally address books more like they should be in 2010. Rather than the static contact information system we've been using for more than a decade in email services, Yahoo Contacts can now automatically sync and stay updated with the latest information on your connections.
"In the latest version of Yahoo! Contacts – in addition to making it simple to
import email addresses from your Facebook friends – we have rolled out an 'auto-updating' Address Book," Rick Pal, senior product manager at Yahoo Mail,
announced. The feature is now live and available for everyone, but there are a couple of steps that you need to make in order to start using it properly. You will start getting the latest information from your contacts immediately, but, if you want your friends to also have your latest data, you must enable the "Share my info" feature.
The feature is now available in the Popular Tools section. After you make sure that the data is accurate and up to date, you can update your account info by using the Edit button, click the Start Sharing button to make it available to your contacts. You can select the data you want to share and the people you want to share it with if you're not comfortable with giving away all the personal info.
"Now here’s the fun part: your friends get your latest contact information without having to lift a finger! First, they will get a Yahoo! Update notifying them that your contact information has changed. Next, when they go to look you up in Yahoo! Contacts, they will see the contact information you gave them access to and the last time it was updated," Pal further explained.
If the feature gets a wide-enough use, and there's no reason why it shouldn't, it would make online address books a lot more useful. Other major players, Google for example, should be looking into doing something similar and, finally, all the various contact pieces of information scattered around the web need to start working together.
Find us on Google+
No user comments yet.
Be the first to express your opinion!
