Yahoo! Groups

If you’re an avid user of the Yahoo! search engine, you may have noticed the links for Yahoo! Groups. Yahoo! Groups is where people with a shared interest can meet and get to know each other, along with staying informed with day to day news. Being in a group allows you to view shared message archives, photos and photo albums, group event calendars, member polls and shared links. And you want to know what the best part of it all is? It's completely free!

You can create a new group for a fan club, share messages with your family and basically anything you can think of. Also, if there’s already a group that catches your eye, you can join it too! If you think you’re ready to be in a group, keep reading!

To Create a Group:

In this example, I am going to create a group for my family. This way, we can all keep in touch with family vacations, share pictures, etc. You can create any type of group you want, but this will at least give you an idea of how to get started.

1.) Start off by visiting the Yahoo! Groups Web site at groups.yahoo.com.

2.) Before I proceed any further, you will need a Yahoo! ID. If you use any other Yahoo! services, such as the Mail or Finance features, you already have one. If not, create one by going here.

3.) Now, click the Sign In link. A page will appear. Type in your username and password and click Sign In.

4.) A new page will then be displayed.

5.) Click the Start a Group link.

6.) Now, you will be prompted to select which category you want your group to be placed in. You can either search for a group or go category by category until you find the best possible one for your group. I used the first method and after a quick search, I selected this category line: Top > Family & Home > Families > Individual Families.

Since this was where I wanted my group to be, I selected the Place My Group Here button.

7.) The next step requires you to enter some information about your group. Enter the information required and click Continue.

8.) The next step just asks which e-mail you would like to receive group e-mails from and which Yahoo! profile you would like to be displayed. Enter the information and click Continue.

9.) You will then see a confirmation page. There are two links at the bottom. Now, I suggest now that you click Customize Your Group.

10.) To begin customizing your group, select Get Started.

11.) The following question asks you whether you would like your group to be listed in the Yahoo! directory, who can join and who can post messages. I made the family group unlisted, that people can only join with my approval and finally, that only members of my group can post messages. After you make your choices, click Next.

12.) The next questions ask whether you want to approve messages, who message replies go to and if you want to use the Web features (photo, files, calendars and polls). Select your answers and click Next.

13.) The next step includes more questions about messages and Web features. Again, answer the questions and click Finish.

14.) You will now see a congratulations page. Next, I recommend that you click Invite People to send out some invitations.

15.) On the next page, you can send e-mails to invite people to your group. I typed in my family members' e-mail addresses, typed a brief message and clicked Submit Invite.

16.) The e-mail will be previewed next. Read it over and if you're sure it says everything you want it to, click Invite People.

17.) You will now see a confirmation page. Click Go to Group.

18.) Continue reading to see how you can add messages, links, pictures and files to your group.

To Join an Existing Group:

1.) Visit groups.yahoo.com, and click the Sign In link.

2.) Enter your username and password and click Sign In.

3.) You should now see a page similar to this:

4.) In the Find a Yahoo! Group search box, type in your query. For example, I searched for groups to discuss my favorite baseball team, the New York Mets, with. So, I typed in "New York Mets fan club."

5.) After scrolling down the results, I found one I liked.

6.) I clicked on it and was greeted by this page:

7.) I clicked the Join this Group! button in the upper right hand corner. On the page that appears, I answered some simple questions and clicked Join, confirmed my selections and I was in!

To Post Messages, Pictures, Links, etc.:

1.) Log in to Yahoo! Groups and visit the homepage of the group of which you wish to post something.

2.) On the left side of the homepage, there is a toolbar. Click on the area where you want to post something. In this example, I am posting a link.

3.) In the right hand corner, there is a button that says Add Link. Click on it.

4.) Just enter what you need to. In this case, a name, description and a URL. When you're done, click Add and voila, your idea has been added!

5.) This process works for all of the other Web features as well.

Remember: If the group moderator (of the group you're a part of) chose to approve Web features, your addition will not be shown right away, so just be patient! Sometimes your Yahoo! group lies in the hands of the moderator.

There’s a whole lot more to explore in Yahoo! Groups too, so you better get started! If you have any further questions, you can find out more by visiting the Yahoo! Groups Help Section.

Enjoy!

~ Neil Patel