When defining FCC rules on what constitutes arbitrary, "Web-Portal-Dominance", how could a line of demarcation be drawn ?
zdnet.com
The Big-Name Partnership That Will Threaten AOL
Jesse Berst, Editorial Director
ZDNet AnchorDesk
By now you've heard about the $6.7
billion deal that marries Excite's portal and @Home's
cable-based Internet access. Click for more. And about
NBC and CNet launching a new portal aimed at users
of ADSL and other high-speed, phone-based Internet
services. Click for more.
What's next? And who's going to win once the dust
settles? Analysts think Microsoft will buy Lycos. Click
for more. But there's a blockbuster in the wings that
could be even more powerful… Amazon and Lycos.
That's right. Ecommerce pioneer Amazon.com may
take its overpriced stock and snap up a portal, possibly
Lycos. Combine Lycos with Amazon's customer base
and the calendaring services of its PlanetAll subsidiary,
and you have a super-portal that could be first to truly
cash in on personalized ecommerce.
Even if Amazon succeeds in its super-secret efforts to
buy a portal, it will face tough competition. In order of
size and muscle:
America Online: Brand leader and audience leader
with great content, commerce and community. Has the
best interface (of a bad lot). Poor personalization and a
proprietary platform are stumbling blocks. Main
challenge is merging/managing multiple brands -- AOL,
CompuServe, Netcenter.
Yahoo: Strong brand and strong personalization
features, plus popular search and navigation tools and
a growing ecommerce function. But this arrogant giant
is beginning to slip against rivals and has no (visible)
broadband strategy. (Disclosure: AnchorDesk parent
Softbank is an investor in Yahoo.)
MSN/Lycos: If Amazon.com can't corral Lycos then
Microsoft probably will. A deal would create a rich
customer base -- MSN, Microsoft.com, Hotmail and
Lycos. Already a leader in personalization, MSN has
strong content and ecommerce with Expedia, Car
Point, Investor.
@Home/Excite: Richest customer base with @Home,
Excite and AT&T customers/subscribers. A leader in
broadband rich media marketing, ads, personalization
and services; can add phone service over cable. Like
AOL, offers full soup-to-nuts menu -- Internet access,
content, commerce, community, services. Lacks brand
awareness and compelling content.
Go Network: Will distinguish itself as a
content-oriented destination with rich fusion of
ABCNews.com, ESPN.com, other Disney properties.
Has Infoseek's excellent directory and search services.
Plus Mickey's promotional genius.
NBC, Snap: Late to the game, but can try for early
lead in broadband content with new partnership with
phone companies. Click for more.
There are other portals and portal wanna-bes that are
candidates to buy or be bought, including AltaVista,
McAfee Online, PointCast, GeoCities, The Mining
Company and HotBot.
Who will be the No. 1 portal site 12 months from now? I
predict America Online will stay on top, followed by
Amazon, Disney and Microsoft. What do you think?
Use the TalkBack button below and/or join my Berst
Alerts forum. |
