This is a good case for aggregators (link below), aka ‘portals’. I have been having a hard time using the word ‘portal’ because of the connotations to 1999 and the Internet Crash of 2001.* I even joked with a colleague that not only will we try to avoid the word ‘portal’, so as not to set off knee-jerk negativity, but to also avoid ‘traffic’, ‘eye-balls’, and other words linked to that most recent bubble.
But, all kidding aside, portals are back and are better. For some time, I knew that, but didn’t know how to describe it in a way that would be palatable. Then, I read a presentation from Ben Hammersly on RSS and all. And the comment that clicked with me was that now, with the structured formats and APIs that we characterize with Web 2.0 (or Web x.0), it is so much easier to create portals, and the portals are so much more dynamic and versatile.
Marc Canter has a company called Broadband Mechanics (BBM) that spends all day thinking, designing, and building portals, which he calls, no doubt to escape the negativity of portals, ‘digital lifestyle aggregators’, or DLAs. Recently, Marc wrote an article on how to make money with DLAs (see link below). While he argues the case for DLAs, and hence explains their value, he really doesn’t explicitly show how to make money. Also, I have yet to see Part Two of this article.
But, no need. It’s a great read and is important for anyone thinking of aggregating all the feeds and content out there. Also, some of the comments he makes are, in themselves, sources for longer discussions.
Great stuff, Marc.
Link: How to make money with digital lifestyle aggregators – Part I :: AO.
So personalization and customization find their destiny intermixed with Integration and Aggregation. The only way to produce compelling enough experiences is by integrating a wide range of built-in constructs, combining that with aggregated web services and content and topping it all off with unprecedented levels of control and customization. In one product or service.
Phil Windley also has some other related links to Doc Searls and Clayton Christensen.
* Incidentally, it was a portal in 1999 that was part of my switch from biomedical research to wireless
