You may have first noticed the charming, yet goofy, ambassador for Yahoo! Mail almost two years ago, bouncing and pogo-ing around the beta version of what is now the All-New Yahoo! Mail (and of course pictured here on this blog as the caped crusader). Today I wanted to take the opportunity to not only get the skinny on our bespectacled friend, but share that skinny with those folks who don’t have the same insider access that I do.

It all began back in 1973. Born to a rocket-scientist mother and mailman father, Liam began perfecting the Chaplin-esque pratfalls we’ve come to love while establishing himself as the class clown of his elementary school. During his teen years he tried his hand at commercials, as well as music, but ultimately found his place working with his father at the post office.

It wasn’t long though before he had an epiphany. Liam wanted to be a part of the latest evolution of mail…email. As luck would have it, his mom had friends at RocketMail (the email engine that would become the foundation for Yahoo! Mail), and got him a job in the Yahoo! email room. As the product of a rocket-scientist and a mailman, Liam was perfectly suited to advancing communication technology, and emerged as the perfect advocate for Yahoo! Mail.

Though he has found great success in his role with the Yahoo! Mail team, all is not bliss for Liam outside of work…which is where you come in. Now you have the opportunity to help Liam find similar happiness outside of his job. Make Liam happy!

Happy emailing,
Andrew

see more pics on Flickr

To celebrate the fact that we’re removing beta from Yahoo! Mail Beta, the team at Yahoo!’s campus in Sunnyvale celebrated with an enormous, inflatable Liam. Over 40 feet tall and able to float over tall buildings in a single bound, the celebration was meant to be as big as all the features we’ve been able to pack into the new Yahoo! Mail.

Consider these features:

• Unlimited storage
• Drag and drop
• Preview pane
• Select multiple messages
• Right-click
• Keyboard shortcuts
• And more….

Coming soon
The term “beta” will be removed from Yahoo! Mail Beta in a short while. We’ve all worked very hard to bring you the best mail product available, and will continue to work hard to keep it the best.

Why’s he called Liam?
Well, he’s actually based on a real person on the Yahoo! Mail team. But his name was chosen for a good reason. Can you guess it? Read it backwards…

Happy emailing
Andrew – Yahoo! Mail Beta Team (soon to be just Yahoo! Mail Team )

If you click and drag that Liam from the ad over to the email you’re composing it will add that Liam to your message.

There are three Liam’s to collect and share with your friends at the moment. There’s the boxer Liam pictured above and two others you’ll have to find on your own. So send a load of emails and see if you can find them all.

Happy Emailing
Andrew - Yahoo! Mail Beta Team

Who is he?

His name is Liam. No, he’s not named after the Oasis frontman, or Tony Blair’s son for that matter. In fact, some simple Countdown-style letter juggling will reveal to you the reason for his name. I don’t really want to go into his origins - it’s complex, emotional and shrouded in mystery. All we really know is that he arrived with the All New Yahoo! Mail and he’s here to help.

What does he want? Why is he here?

Liam’s sole purpose is to help people use All New Yahoo! Mail. Here at Yahoo! we aim to design everything to be entirely intuitive in its simplicity but we also appreciate that this version of Yahoo! Mail is quite a departure from the old one. So, if you are having any problems finding ways to do anything, Liam is often on hand to provide hints and tips to help you through. He’ll also appear here and there to point out new features or highlight ways you can use existing features better, all so that you get the best out the service. Think of him as a signpost to useful information about Yahoo! Mail.

Is he slowing down my load time?

No, absolutely not. You’ll notice that Liam appears as you log in, typically showcasing his latest trick (currently shadow boxing in a pair of lilac shorts). He’s just there to fill the space and entertain you while your inbox quickly loads - like a warm up act before the main event. As we work to improve New Yahoo! Mail that load time will become so brief that Liam will lose his spot there altogether. However, in the meantime please enjoy - or at least put up with - his antics, safe in the knowledge that he’s not slowing you down.

Where can I find him?

If you need help and Liam’s nowhere to be seen, you can always go to him. Just visit the Overview by clicking Help then selecting Yahoo! Mail Overview from the dropdown. Or click here�to go there now.