nettime-nl: Re: portals, traffic en browsers

["Ronald van Raay" <Ronald.van.Raay@ingram.nl> (by way of Marja Oosterman <marja@nopapers.nl>)]

Portals, Portals Everywhere


Wired News Report





4:00 a.m.  8.Oct.98.PDT


Network Associates said Wednesday it will soon set up a portal, aiming for
a niche like Yahoo's or America Online's. And EarthLink chucked its bonnet
in the portal ring, too, on Wednesday, separately announcing it will launch
a directory service.


Why would Network Associates (NETA), a security-software company, enter the
business? Because the company, which offers free downloads of antivirus and
security software, runs off of the most visited corporate sites on the Web
and could make money from the traffic, executives said.


"We're going after the e-commerce side of it and the business-to-business
side of it -- and less on the content, which is what Excite and Infoseek
are doing," said Srivats Sampath, vice president of marketing for Network
Associates.


As part of its portal plans, Network Associates formed a partnership with
online retailer Beyond.com to be the exclusive online reseller of its
software. The site will ultimately include electronic storefronts,
comparative-shopping services, and news, Network Associates said.


Eventually the site will grow to include shopping services in eight to 10
categories, including consumer electronics, music, books, travel, and
software. The first services of the shopping portal, which will be called
McAfee Online, are due to come online in early November, the company said.


In other portal news, EarthLink, an Internet service provider, also said
Wednesday it will offer an Internet directory service to its subscribers
later this month.


Its Personal Start Page will give customers access to sites like
ABCNEWS.com, CNN Interactive, Excite, and Wired Digital, which owns Wired
News.


EarthLink (ELNK) makes most of its money by linking consumer's
modem-equipped PCs to the Internet -- a notoriously low-margin business.
The Pasadena, California, company plans to expand its sources of revenue by
charging for advertising and content deals on its Web directory, just as
America Online and Yahoo do.


EarthLink said it will offer its Personal Start Page as the default
starting point for hardware and software manufacturers. EarthLink will
charge those companies for displaying their logo prominently on the page.


EarthLink also hopes to differentiate its services from other ISPs by
moving into navigation, the company said.





Related Wired Links:





Network Associates Takes Stage


11.Sep.98





Looking Above and Beyond.com


26.Aug.98





Portal Stocks Jump on AOL Bid


17.Jun.98





EarthLink Reels In Its Losses


15.Jul.98





EarthLink Nips at AOL's Heels


7.Nov.97








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