Netscape is synonymous in my mind with missed opportunity. After AOL bought the company it totally neglected it and IE ate all its remaining market share. Since that time the Netscape brand has been “reinvented” several times, as a low-cost ISP, a Digg clone and now a personalized start page.
Indeed, a new My.Netscape is joining an increasingly crowded field of personalized homepages: Netvibes, Google IG, MyYahoo, Pageflakes, MSFT’s Live.com. Modules and widgets oh my!
On a more serious note, I previously wrote about the potential of these pages here. In particular, I’m waiting to see the My.Yahoo! redesign, which is promised. Yahoo!’s delay may have cost them a potential opportunity.
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Greg Sterling is the founding principal of Sterling Market Intelligence, a consulting and research firm focused on online consumer and advertiser behavior and the relationship between the Internet and traditional media, with an emphasis on the local marketplace.
