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Yahoo gives One.org a Web 2.0 upgrade

Yahoo spiffs up site of the antipoverty group co-founded by U2's Bono. It now features blogs, photo sharing and more.

Candace Lombardi
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
Candace Lombardi
2 min read
As part of an employee volunteer program, Yahoo has upgraded the Web site of a prominent charity.

One.org--which promotes the initiatives of the organization One: The Campaign to Make Poverty History, including its Live 8 concert--now features photo sharing, blogging, a downloadable toolbar, podcasts and an interactive map.

As part of Yahoo for Good Scrum, a company program that lets its employees spend up to three months away from their regular responsibilities to support a charitable cause, Yahoo also integrated One.org with a One group on its Flickr site, where organization supporters can add their photo.

The Flickr photos are featured on the One.org home page, alongside those of celebrity supporters. Clicking on any of the photos brings site visitors to that photo and its tagged information on the Yahoo photo-sharing site.

One supporters can download banners to place on their Web sites, which would give One.org free ad support. They can also download a One.org-Yahoo toolbar that provides fast links to One updates and streaming video of its latest events.

The site also sells self-promoting wristbands and T-shirts. Naturally, those T-shirts are now worn by some downloadable Yahoo avatars.

The Web site overhaul is part of a One campaign leading up to this year's G8 Summit, set to kick off July 15 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Last year, One's Live 8 concert was held in Berlin, London, Paris, Philadelphia and Rome simultaneously. Its purpose: to lobby the Group of 8 world leaders for greater commitments to fighting extreme poverty and AIDS.

Co-founded by U2 lead singer Bono, One.org is a coalition of several faith-based and humanitarian organizations, including Bread for the World, Save the Children, Oxfam, USA for Africa, and UNICEF USA. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, The New York Times Co.'s About.com, MSNBC and AOL are also supporters.