Yahoo!7 Answers Blog Australia

A few weeks ago, we announced that we were conducting “The World Interviews David Beckham“, live and exclusive on Yahoo!.

We gave you the chance to participate, by posing the question: “If you could ask David Beckham one question, what will you ask him and why?“. The winner would receive a football signed by David Beckham as well as the opportunity to have their question presented during the interview. How cool is that?

We are pleased to announce that mum of 3 j’s has won with her question: How do you and Victoria cope as parents? Are you hands on like the rest of us or do you rely on Nanny’s to raise the children. Do your kids realise how famous their parents are?.

There’s a box of goodies on the way to her in the mail, along with the jabulani ball signed by David.

mum of 3 j’s question was also chosen to be included in the Yahoo! interview that was streamed live across the world last night. As it was the middle of the night for Australia, our colleagues in Singapore kindly asked the question on behalf of Yahoo!7 and the Australian Answers Community.

You can catch mum of 3 j’s question at approximately 28:25 into the interview. David talked for quite some time in response! If you wish to view a larger version, please visit Yahoo!7 Sport.

Once again, congratulations to mum of 3 j’s! We hope you enjoy your football and the interview

Kate
Community Manager

Well, yesterday was a pretty special day, as David Beckham was interviewed by the world! Seeing him respond to questions from Answers contributors from Australia and around the world was amazing.

He came across as a really genuine guy, speaking openly about low points in his life, how he met and first kissed Victoria and what their  “date nights” are like.  Despite his global susperstar status, his love for football came across repeatedly.

We could probably go on at length about what it was like to be part of this global spectacle but honestly, you just need to watch the video:

If you wish to watch the “The World Interviews David Beckham” live, it will be at approximately 11:30pm AEST (Sydney time) this evening.

You can view it here: http://game.penaltyshootout.yahoo.com/beckham/

You can participate by asking him question via Facebook here or via Twitter by using the tag #YDB on your tweets!

We hope you enjoy this evening’s interview!

Kate
Community Manager

Did you know that you can set your allegiance for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Yahoo!7 Mail? Even better, you can share it with all your friends across Yahoo!7 and Facebook!

How does it work?

Tasla from the Yahoo!7 Mail Team, has put together a step-by-step tutorial:

“…you will see a flag icon in the status area – the flag is based on the regional version and language of Yahoo! Mail that you use – If you have a Yahoo!7 Mail account, you will see the Australian flag.

By clicking on the flag, Yahoo!7 Mail will auto-fill your status message with a short phrase of support for that country.”

To read the rest of the tutorial, head on over to the Yahoo!7 Mail & Messenger Blog for further details.

The Yahoo!7 Lifestyle Team is asking the following question on Yahoo!7 Answers:

• What methods are you using to stay awake to watch the World Cup?

Have you been staying up late or getting up early to catch the games? Leave a comment on the question above or leave a comment below!

Kate
Community Manager

We are about to blow out the candles and celebrate like we would have if NSW had won this year’s State of Origin – because exactly four years ago, Yahoo!7 Answers was born!

The best thing about our anniversary is that, since our beginnings as a small site with big aspirations, we have had amazing achievements. Not only did we recently receive our 1 billionth answer, but we have formed a strong community of users who share their knowledge and experience. For that reason, we want to thank all the people of different ages, countries and opinions who have made this possible: thank you for your contributions!

We know it’s not all peaches and cream, and we are aware that there is always room for improvement. The Yahoo!7 Answers homepage has undergone some important changes and we have recently added a Facebook integration that allows you to share your answers with your friends in that social network, but there is still a long way to go. What do you think?

• What changes would you like to see on Yahoo!7 Answers?

Anniversaries are thoughtful moments, ideal for reflecting upon our mistakes and growing up in every aspect of our lives. They are also a good reason to celebrate and remember the past, so we want to know:

• What has been your best experience on Yahoo!7 Answers?

I’d have made a cake, but I’m a rather messy cook – check out the cakes I made for the Yahoo!7 Mail & Messenger celebrations last year to see why.

Celebrate our birthday with us and (leaving modesty aside) don’t forget to leave your messages of congratulations here!

Kate
Community Manager

At this very moment, the best football (soccer) players from all over the world are making their way to sunny South Africa to compete for the prize of all prizes. All eyes will turn to the Rainbow Nation to see if the numerous critics and doubters were right after all: They don’t believe the country is ready to host the greatest show on earth. Well, the time for words and debate is over, let the action begin and we’ll find out for ourselves!

Behind all the exciting games and magnificent stadia we will be seeing on our screens and the long hours we will be spending encouraging our team on to at least one more win, there is a fascinating country extending well beyond what will be shown.

Don’t worry, this is not a history class, nor a geography test about South Africa.  It is just a quick introduction to some facts you may find interesting (like the fact that Kruger National Park is almost the same size as Holland). Hopefully what follows will help add context and flavour to a whole month of football and activities that will happen in Answers.

The Rainbow Nation

South Africans often describe themselves as the Rainbow Nation due to their wide ranging diversity in people and cultural groups. South Africa has a population of 45 million people speaking 11 official languages, with Zulu, Xhosa and Afrikaans being the most common home languages (English is the fifth most common home language, but is understood by most people as, primarily for economic and political reasons, it is the lingua franca).

The best known and biggest cultural group in South Africa is the Zulus. They proudly defend and practice their own traditions, and became a very important force against the British army in the late 19^th Century.

Unusually, the country has three capital cities: Cape Town (Legislative), Pretoria (Administrative), and Bloemfontein (Judicial).

The South African flag as we know it today was adopted on Liberty Day, April 27^th 1994 (during the first democratic elections after the abolishment of apartheid.

Sport

Sport in South Africa is almost a national religion! Children actively engage in all types of sport from a very young age and inevitably dream of emulating their heroes in football, rugby, cricket and just about every other sport you can think of.

Since the first democratic elections were celebrated in 1994, South Africa has hosted a variety of international sporting tournaments: The Rugby World cup in 1995 (which they won), Football’s African Cup of Nations in 1996 (which they won), and the Cricket World Cup in 2003. The country has also hosted auto racing’s A1 Grand Prix since 2006.

South Africa has always been a formidable competitor in Rugby Union. The national team, the Springboks, have won the Rugby World Cup on two occasions: 1995 and 2007.

Bafana Bafana (as the South African football team are known, meaning “The Boys”) have the hopes of a nation riding on their shoulders. The South African Football Association (SAFA) was banned from all international football events from 1974 till 1992, so winning the African Cup of Nations in 1996 was a significant triumph. Since then Bafana Bafana have proven somewhat inconsistent, slaying giants one moment and losing dismally to underdogs the next. So anything could happen in June/July 2010!

Famous South Africans

You may know of several other famous South Africans, but here we offer a small list of some of the names that have conquered the world, and you may be surprised by some of them:

• J.R.R. Tolkien, writer and author of “Lord of the Rings”.
• J.M. Coetzee, writer and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
• Nelson Mandela, revolutionary leader, first black president and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
• Charlize Theron, the first South African actress to win an Oscar.
• Christian Barnard, the doctor who realised the first ever heart transplant.
• Jody Sheckter, Formula 1 champion in 1979.
• Gary Player, World Golf Hall of Famer and winner of 9 major tournaments
• Desmond Tutu, Archbishop and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984
• Hugh Masekela, Grammy Award nominated musician best known as a trumpeter

As we mentioned, this is just a small introduction to South Africa, and the beginning of a whole month of activities that we have prepared for the Answers Community around the FIFA World Cup.  Stay tuned, and you will find yourself in the middle of a number of contests, activities and rewards that we’ve set up for you along the way.

“May the best team win!”

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh! (Happy St. Patrick’s Day in Irish Gaelic)

St. Patrick’s Day… the one day of the year, the entire world becomes Irish!

For many, March 17th simply means wearing green and lots of Guinness whilst celebrating with friends and loved ones. For others, including the millions of Catholics worldwide, the day takes on more of a religious significance.

This got me thinking, what is the history behind St. Patrick’s Day and how did it move from a being a secular day to a celebration embraced by the world? Perhaps you can help me out:

• What is the origin of St. Patrick’s Day?

My own family are of Irish background, I myself am both 1st-generation Irish and descended from Irish stock, harking back to the days of convict settlement in Australia.

The photo to the left is the home my Great, Great Grandparents lived in, it is still owned and occupied by members of my family to this day!

We mark the day by attending mass, wearing green and spending time with our friends and loved ones. We celebrate life and are generally thankful for the blessings of family and good friends.

Do you have any particular traditions for St. Patrick’s Day? Leave a comment below or on the question above

Kate
Community Manager

Although it’s already the 3rd of March over here in Australia, it’s still the 2nd in the Northern Hemisphere and so the celebrations for Yahoo!’s 15th Birthday continue…

Be sure to check out the special birthday message from Yahoo! Founders David Filo and Jerry Yang. Here’s a snippet:

We want to share our pride, gratitude and excitement on this 15^th birthday, with all Yahoo! users (600 million of them), customers and partners.  It continues to be an incredible ride for the two of us, as well as for thousands of Yahoo! employees we have had the privilege of working with over the years.

We’ve had the unique opportunity to help create an industry and shape the online world, and will continue to focus on the values that brought us here —working hard, having fun, being passionate about your ideas, believing in each other, and always trying to invent the future.  And as we celebrate 15 years today, we are even more excited than ever about what lies ahead, and the potential of Yahoo! and the Internet.

And from the Yahoo! Messenger team:

Thanks to you, the users, for continuing to support us and use products like Yahoo! Messenger. We’ll be celebrating at all the Yahoo! offices today and know that if we could, we’d send each of you a slice of Yahoo! birthday cake.

Here are some images from celebrations in other Yahoo! offices:

Yahoo! 15th birthday celebration in Singapore. Photo by Yodel Anecdotal.

Yahoo! 15th birthday celebration in the Philippines. Photo by Yodel Anecdotal.

How did you celebrate? Leave a comment below!

Kate
Community Manager

Yahoo! turns 15 today!

And what’s a birthday party without cake? There are celebrations happening at Yahoo! offices all over the world on this special occasion. This is the cake we had in the Yahoo!7 offices this morning.

We all had different birthday cakes growing up, mostly homemade – my Mum’s specialities were different Sesame Street characters. My favourite was Big Bird!

Which brings me to this question:

• What is the best birthday cake you have ever had?

Happy Birthday and best wishes to each and every one of you, you are all part of what makes Yahoo!7 a great place to be

Kate
Community Manager

The party season is now officially over…

Gone are the endless rounds of parties, excess of food and drink, general relaxing and celebrating with friends and loved ones. It was a busy, heady couple of weeks but, unfortunately, it’s back to reality for the majority of us.

Synonymous with New Year celebrations are New Year’s resolutions. Traditionally, a New Year’s resolution is a commitment one makes to change something, to start something new or to improve an element of their lives and surroundings.

With the above in mind, we posed the following question:

• What is your New Year’s resolution?

We all like to start the new year, fresh with good intentions, but the reality is that many people either struggle to keep their resolutions or just do not bother at all. It takes great determination to stick something out for an entire year! I am definitely guilty of this one myself

There’s something different about this year though… Maybe it’s the aftermath of the GFC or maybe people are just tired of never accomplishing what they set out to do, but it would people appear to be enthused about making this year THE year they achieve their goals.

The single, biggest hurdle is sticking to your resolution(s) as best you can, no matter how hard it may be. After that, it’s all downhill.

• How will you ensure you keep to your New Year’s resolutions?

I am no exception to this trend… I am blessed with a fantastic job, loving partner and family, amazing friends and a large range of social activities I regularly participate in. Everyone around me appears to be getting married, buying homes, having children and just generally settling down. The clock’s not ticking just yet; however I am acutely aware that I could be better preparing myself for the future.

Here are my resolutions, in no particular order:

• Get my personal finances in order, including building some savings.
• Get fit.
• Get closer to completing my degree.

The first is already underway! I am taking the huge step of cancelling my credit card and consolidating, that will be completed within the next few days. Next the middle one, I have some old injuries to try and work around and you already know that I play sports. I will be asking many questions of the Answers community about the best way to do things and for hints and tips, so be prepared for a year long challenge! The last is already underway, I am enrolled in subjects for the year ahead.

Here’s to a productive year ahead in 2010!

Kate
Community Manager