Yahoo's new social network fails to defeat Facebook, MySpace in single blow
Remember that game where you pick an object out of a set that doesn't belong? Let's play! Start with a giraffe, an elephant and a vacuum cleaner. Too hard? Here's an easier one. In response to the growing social-network phenomenon,Microsoft invests $240 million in Facebook; Google launches OpenSocial; and today, Yahoo launches Kickstart, a cross between LinkedIn and Facebook, designed to help college students find internships, job prospects and career advice. The evidence we're not the only ones betting against a big Kickstart future?
Three companies have signed up so far. One is a charity. The other is a Yahoo client, Ogilvy. And the last? Yahoo. According to reports, Kickstart was created by Yahoo's Advanced Products group, which Yahoo PR is apparently telling reporters to call a "young Yahoo unit charged with advancing product innovation." But we don't mind if you call them "Facebook rejects."