It seems that every online publisher wants to become your entry-point to the
Internet these days.
By claiming this premium space, a website is able to gain valuable hits each
and every time you log on -- and that's good for business. After all, would
msn.co.nz really be NZ's
most popular website (according to
Hitwise)
if it weren't the default startup page on so many copies of Internet Explorer?
A quick search for the words "make this your homepage" within the dot-NZ namespace
returns hundreds of sites all vying for this coveted prize -- and now
there's another quality contender on the scene.
IDG has just announced its entry in the NZ search-engine and "wannabe your start-page"
space with the launch of
SearchNOW.
A few simple searches run through the site seem to indicate that it performs
very well. It's fast, flexible and effective -- who could
ask for more?
My own NZ search-engine of choice has always been
SearchNZ and, while
SearchNOW probably isn't going to replace it on my bookmark list, it's
certainly going to offer some strong competition.
If I had to say something negative about SearchNOW (and what Aardvark commentary
would be complete without the obligatory moan?) it would have to be that the
news content on the front page appears to have been chosen with a view to
protecting the publisher's other interests rather than offering the visitor
any real choice.
IDG's own publications and INL's Stuff seem to be the only sources of this news
material and that's a shame. If the publisher could bear to take a broader
perspective and offer the visitor a wider choice then this site would score
much higher on the list of wannabe browser-start pages.
Come on Martin, there are plenty of great news resources on the local web so
why not aggregate some links from
The NZ Herald,
NZoom,
Scoop,
NewsRoom and
the other excellent NZ news providers out there. You might be surprised
at just how much you gain by offering the visitor more value.
What do readers think of the
SearchNOW site?
Will you be making it your browser-start page? Just what is your browser-start
page anyway?
Tell me or Aardvark's readers through the contact form.
Aardvark Weekly, The First Edition
As mentioned at the top of this page, I have just spent almost a week in Singapore
where I met with a number of key people in the new economy area in both formal
and informal settings.
The first edition of the new Weekly will include my observations on the rather
surprising (to me) way that the some members of the Asian sector of the
finance industry and new economy views little old NZ and its attempts to
break into the new economy.
Rest assured that my inquiries into the activities of those heading
some of our own public new economy companies continues and will also be included
in the weekly at the earliest possible opportunity.
If you want to receive the "all new" Aardvark Weekly in PDF format by email
then please use
the contact form to leave your email address.
All who have subscribed should receive a confirmation email on Wednesday
and, once they have confirmed, they should get the first edition
by email within 24 hours.
As always, email addresses submitted for the purposes of receiving the Weekly
will not be given away, sold, bent, spindled, mutilated or otherwise abused
and you will not receive anything other than the weekly as a result of signing
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As always, your feedback is welcomed and...
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now!
