5 alternatives to Yahoo Groups
Online communities have evolved since the introduction of Yahoo Groups in 2001. You can create a group or take part in online chats with people from all over the world who have the same ideas and share the same interests with you.
Yahoo acquired eGropus and ONElist to form Yahoo Groups. At the beginning, you could create and subscribe to groups using any email address. Besides, you could add members directly to your mailing list making it easier to migrate an existing physical/virtual group to the platform. Now, Yahoo changed the rules and required all group members and moderators to join using a Yahoo email address. Since then, a lot of alternatives with better features have emerged forcing Yahoo Groups to shut down.
Yahoo Groups allowed users to post messages, photos, polls, events, mailing lists, files, links to websites, etc. It had over 10 million groups and 125 million users at its peak. However, the platform shut down in 2019.
Luckily, there are several alternatives that you can use instead of Yahoo Groups. Here are the 5 best alternatives to Yahoo Groups:
This platform from the largest social media company Facebook which has over 2 billion active monthly users has over 1 billion active users monthly. On Facebook Groups, you can still schedule group event, share images and files, among others. The group can be public, private or hidden with people joining on invite-only basis. To use Facebook Groups, you need a Facebook account. On the downside however, Facebook will still show you ads.
Google groups is another alternative to consider especially when considering that a lot of people use Google products including Gmail. The platform is free and similar to Yahoo Groups as since its email based, it’s easier for people that have use Yahoo Groups before to easily adopt the platform. However, the platform poses similar issues to Yahoo Groups. You need to have a Gmail account for you to use it.
Meetup is another popular platform that you can consider as a replacement for Yahoo Groups. Its concept is simple, you choose what you’re passionate about or interested in and then find a local group that shares the same interests as you. You can then attend events organized by the group and physically interact with like-minded people. The group can be about anything ranging from business networking, technology, music, book clubs, and other social activities. The main difference between Meetup and Yahoo Groups is that Meetup aims to create real-life experiences for people meeting online. However, Meetupisn’t free, currently it has two pricing options to choose from – $4.99/month ideal for a small group for 6 months and $15 dollars/month ideal for large groups both of which run for 6 months.
Listserv, sometimes referred to asListserve or email discussion group, is another platform to consider. Its email based and similar to Yahoo Groups which will feel like home if you’re migrating your members. Besides, you can keep your members list intact and the platform can or cannot be free based on your needs. Listserv is slightly different from Yahoo Groups since no one changes the rules except you and you’re responsible for its maintenance. The platform doesn’t have ads, cookies, or popups and its private as the emails aren’t available on the public search engines. There’s no limit to how far the community can go. If you are looking for an ad-free, stable and easy to use platform, then listserv is worth your time.
Nextdoor is similar to Meetup allowing local communities to connect in physical real-life off the online platform and completely free to use. To use Nextdoor, you need to be part of a specific neighborhood since the platform focuses on real networking. The platform has similar Yahoo Groups’ features including chat messaging, file sharing, and wiki pages. You can create either an open or private group and for a business, you can advertise your brand on your neighborhood.
