To Each His Own Portal

Web Microsoft has revamped its Swiss Internet portal, MSN—a world premiere. Microsoft's MSN division on
September 27 in Switzerland, one of the pioneering markets, as
presented the expanded offerings of the MSN Internet portal. Behind this
A relaunch involves much more than just a visual update. For example, the
The website provides one to five times faster access to the most important
Enable online resources. «In addition to the desire for less
Advertising space is one of the most important demands made by those seeking
»Users surveyed about suggestions for improvement," comments Joost
Nienhuis, Regional Director at MSN EMEA, the changes that were made
at Microsoft's Swiss headquarters in Wallisellen.
MSN sees itself as the clear leader in the field of communication and aims to
strengthen its position with the relaunch. To that end, the company, which
this year, for the first time since the MSN service was launched ten
has managed to turn a profit in recent years, including the
key services such as Search, Hotmail, and Messenger are more accessible
...also the "Spaces" service, which was launched just a few months ago –
a service that allows users to post photos and
Enables the creation of weblogs or blogs—is prominent
placed.

Customizable for each user
As a new feature, you can now check the weather on the website
display data from different regions at the same time—without
the browser has to refresh the page. Without a refresh
Content can also be added or hidden. This allows you to
Overall, the site is very good and easy to customize to individual preferences
to the user's needs. Customization is, after all, the greatest
Change to the relaunch: Instead of being based solely on static content
this one, which is based on RSS (Really Simple Syndication) technology
Content. The content is thus concisely summarized and guides the
Users are redirected to the information provider's website upon request. The
News is updated every 15 minutes—provided there are new reports
present.
Does this mean Microsoft is getting into the publishing business? «No, not at all.”
No. We do not employ journalists or editors, but rather
Instead, they rely on partnerships with leading content providers.
»Our core expertise is software and its development," explains Joost
Nienhuis. The software determines, for example, which item is included in the fixed
At the top of the content is: «The most requested content is in
»prioritized within his department."

MSN is raking in the cash
Even higher up—and thus in a very prominent position—is the
Search service. Modeled after the one available at the operating system level
The Desktop Search service now runs in the background here as well
A powerful and efficient search engine helps users with the popular
Search function. This service also helps fund the
MSN portals. Just like with Yahoo and Google, this means that on MSN as well
through click-through fees on ads displayed in search results
cash.
Based on the user survey, MSN is now focusing on less
online display ads. Even a single one of these digital
The ad is prominently displayed in the upper right corner of the homepage; a change in the
Ad space is only displayed when the page is reloaded (refreshed).
In addition, MSN is using a new 300×250-pixel «Medium Rectangle»
(according to the standard of the IAB, Internet Advertising Bureau; www.iab.net)
the aforementioned advertising format, which, according to Microsoft, is currently the
is intended to spread the fastest. «The Medium Rectangle can also be
ideal for rich media, that is, for playing multimedia content,
»use," explains MSN Market Manager Arend Hendriks, adding:
«In addition, customers can view advertisements in the form of pop-ups on the website
»Buy ad space (floating ad)." However, users should only
see four times a month.  
When asked about the website's funding, which is provided by fewer
When asked whether finding advertising space is at least getting any easier, Hendriks replies: «That
Medium Rectangle will be about 50 percent more expensive than it had been up to that point
comparable advertising space. Thanks to this unique selling point,
but these are generally followed much more closely than the previous ones
»electronic displays."
AdLink is responsible for marketing the MSN portal in Switzerland
Internet Media AG. Their Managing Director, Martin Radelfinger, speaks
a «very good advertising environment.» He, too, is impressed by the new
Ad format proves effective: «The Medium Rectangle, for example, is also used on
on the Bluewin platform. This should make the new ad format
»reach about 80 percent of Internet users following the MSN relaunch."
Radelfinger also sees great potential in marketing the tool
Messenger: «Seven-second trailers before connecting with
Video calls with someone are a really exciting experience. That means
»The messenger will become a standalone, highly attractive advertising platform."
There's still one downside for non-IE users: Anyone who doesn't have the latest
uses a Microsoft web browser and does not run Windows XP,
However, it still lacks some important features. This shortcoming, however, is expected to
be resolved immediately.
 

Jürgen Franck