Personalized start pages: Why I fulfil my information needs otherwise

Have you heard of those great Web sites, so called “Personalized Start Pages”, which will make life so much easier? There was a big hype starting in 2005, and almost all the big portals and news providers jumped on the band wagon – now we can see more failures.

The idea behind the concept sounds tempting at a first glance:
Personalized start pages allow their users to get all of their favorite websites, blogs, news, weather, maps, events, address books, to do lists, email accounts, social networks, search engines, video and photo networks – you name it – in one place, and users then can share the page with their friends.

What are the flaws
Have a look at the screenshot below: E-Mail, Flickr, Youtube, maps, etc.
Now consider the following scenarios and the users’ needs:

1. He wants to check his E-Mail: Where does he go?
   His start page or his E-Mail account?
2. He wants to check out the news on Youtube: Where does he go?
   His start page or Youtube?
3. He wants to upload some images to Flickr: Where does he go?
   His start page or Flickr?
4. He needs directions: Start page or Google maps?

You get the pattern.

So what are the benefits?
That is the big question. Users will fulfil their needs directly. The obstacles of configuring the start page and the loss of time do not match the benefits. A simple start page where a user can assemble all his favorite RSS feeds can offer a quick overview of all the sites’ news, and weather info is a feature many users appreciate. However, most features offered on those sites only mean a click more for the user, and therefore the user would rather go directly to the desired target such as Youtube, the E-Mail account or Flickr.

This is also why Flickr, Youtube, delicious, Facebook and many others got sold or received substantial venture capital. Despite the fact that several Personalized start pages got impressive media coverage, there is little business hype heard.

Lessons learned:
One of the most important factors for being successful is creating a business strategy that fulfils a concrete user need.
And yes, I am still wondering about the business models of today’s personalized start pages.

Who are the players?

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