Yahoo Denegrates Avatars, what to use instead?

A month ago Yahoo announced it was shutting down several of it’s services to yahoo mail users. The impact can now be felt among the Google communities where tech enthusiasts make use of many web apps.

Today is a sad day for Yahoo users – Joseph Prest | Google+

From plus.google.com – April 1, 8:45 PM

Today is a sad day for Yahoo users. The reason why I switched from Yahoo to Google is because they are basically shutting down connections to Yahoo Mail Classic to anyone except email. Today they shut down our avatars. Their excuse, “At Yahoo!, we’re focused on making your daily habits more inspiring and entertaining.

Juliana Payson‘s insight:

Joseph Prest isn’t the only one who likes playing with avatars, We particularly love his moving G+ avatar. Yahoo used to provide an avatar service, but like many good things, they come to an end… How many of you have heard the same story come from the likes of Aviary for example, who last year shut down their advanced editing services like Myrna for music and Pheonix for image editing. Aviary decided instead to focus on their “Photo Software”. Instead we have another Instagram clone, which doesn’t give us the exploration of cool tools that we geeks just love to experiment with.

 

Yahoo preparing to shut down 7 services – SlashGear

Yahoo preparing to shut down 7 services - SlashGear | How to Grow Your Business Online | Scoop.it

From www.slashgear.com – Today, 6:59 PM

It looks like the work-at-home program isn’t the only program Yahoo is shutting down. Yahoo is also planning on shutting down 7 other products…

Juliana Payson‘s insight:

Yahoo is shutting down 7  products that aren’t bringing in the kind of success Yahoo wants. Along with these products, Yahoo also plans on reducing their number of mobile apps from 60-75 to a measly 12-15. In streamlining their presence on the web, they are reducing their presence to us, and leaving little room for us to play. I personally think this is a bad decision, as all these nooks or experimental presences are what give the Brand a character and can inadvertently start communities.

Edwin Torres on Google+ finds another mobile based app (not as extensive as Yahoo Avatars), but definitely offering cool customization:

 

I found a fun little avatar app called WeeMee – Edwin Torres | Google+

Edwin Torres - Google+ - I found a fun little avatar app called WeeMee. It's… | How to Grow Your Business Online | Scoop.it

From plus.google.com – Today, 6:00 PM

I found a fun little avatar app called WeeMee. It’s available for iOS and Android, and it’s free.

Juliana Payson‘s insight:

I also like Face Your Manga, another free app for making avatars in the Anime style.

 

Are there any web apps and online services closing down you would like to see preserved or see alternatives for? Let me know and I’ll see what I can find. Alternatively you can start the discussion here on the blog! – Juliana