Yahoo has now decided to follow Demand Media’s lead by deleting 75,000 articles from Associated Content, and is even going so far as to change Associated Content new a new network called Yahoo Voices.

In a post on Yahoo’s Yodel Anecdotal blog, the company says “We have retired more than 75,000 pieces of inactive and outdated content from Associated Content. None of this content will appear on Yahoo! Voices, and only content that meets our revised Submission Guidelines will be accepted moving forward. Older content that does not meet these standards will be gradually retired or returned to the original author for editing.”

This is obviously a reaction (albeit a very late reaction) to Google’s Panda update, which itself has been updated various times throughout the year, and will likely continue to be tweaked. I’m sure you know the story if you’re reading this. If not, you can find our past coverage here.

Demand Media ended up deleting around 300,000 articles from eHow, and seems to have been doing ok since (though they did implement a broader quality clean-up initiative and put a greater emphasis on social).

Here’s an email that Yahoo has sent out to writers:

We’re writing to notify you about some important changes to Yahoo! Contributor Network and our digital library of content.

First, allow us to introduce Yahoo! Voices: a new online home for millions of pieces of content created by our community of experts and enthusiasts.

Yahoo! Voices (http://voices.yahoo.com) replaces Associated Content as the official digital library of Yahoo! Contributor Network. Most content formerly published on Associated Content will now be found on the new site, andassociatedcontent.com URLs will automatically redirect to the corresponding pieces on voices.yahoo.com. You’ll now see Yahoo! Voices in place of Associated Content on your profile page, Account page, and Content menu as well.

We’re also pleased to announce these important changes in connection with the launch of Yahoo! Voices:

New Submission Guidelines: Today we are releasing revised Submission Guidelines, which better clarify what we’re seeking: unique content containing authentic perspectives from experts, enthusiasts, and citizen journalists, to complement Yahoo!’s broader editorial offerings. Read the new guidelines here.

Editing and retiring content: The above guidelines apply to new and existing content. Any published content that does not meet these standards may be returned for editing or retired. We ask that you review your own library to identify content that doesn’t meet our new guidelines, is outdated, or simply isn’t something you’re proud to call your best work. We’ve added two new options to our content flag tool. “Flagging my own content for retirement” will, pending editors’ review, remove that content from the site (without affecting your accumulated page views, pending Performance Bonus, or Clout score). “Flagging my own content for edits” will prompt us to return the content to you so that you can update and resubmit it.

“Yahoo! Style Guide” giveaway: The “Yahoo! Style Guide” is the ultimate guide to best practices in online content creation, and it has already become invaluable to many contributors. We’ve sent style guides to hundreds of contributors so far, and to celebrate the launch of Yahoo! Voices, we’re spreading the knowledge further. If you haven’t received a style guide from us already and you live in the US, those of you with more than 10 published articles who also publish a new article before the end of the year will receive an invitation to claim a free copy. Don’t miss your chance to get this amazing resource for free!

Additional information:

On the blog: Associated Content founder and Yahoo! VP Luke Beatty discusses the launch of Yahoo! Voices, and how we got here.

Yahoo! Voices FAQ: Learn more about how this launch may affect you.

If you notice any technical issues in connection with this launch, please contact us.

Thank you for helping us reach this milestone! We’re excited to provide an even better place to showcase your unique voice on Yahoo!. Check out Yahoo! Voices now.

Sincerely,

Yahoo! Contributor Network

Some writers were wondering why they hadn’t been getting assignments from Yahoo lately. That would explain it.