Yahoo will soon launch a service called “Y Connect” with features very similar to those of Facebook Connect — portable identity management, integrating Yahoo content on third-party websites, and sharing data about what you’re doing and where with your Yahoo contacts.
The service will share info with your contacts through Yahoo Pulse, the Threadsy-like activity stream that Yahoo launched about four months ago to compete with Google Buzz and other social offerings.
The Wall Street Journal broke the news, but it didn’t provide many details. All we know so far is that Y Connect will help advertisers track user activity and interests much like Facebook Connect and Open Graph do.
The article cites a source saying that Y Connect will be “formally announced” later this fall. Yahoo’s been struggling as of late, so additional traffic is critical at this juncture. The web portal recently revamped its search features, but rumor has it that it’s fighting off an acquisition attempt by AOL of all companies.
Will Y Connect help Yahoo revitalize? Time will tell, but feel free to share your thoughts and predictions in the comments.