Microsoft revamps MSN homepage to Web 2.0

There was me thinking Internet portals were dead and buried. But it seems I’m wrong. In fact, Microsoft claims research shows 37 percent of Web users still rely on an Internet portal. Which is probably why Microsoft is now giving its MSN homepage a complete revamp. Web 2.0 has finally hit MSN, as the rest of the Internet moves on.

With the launch of Bing, Microsoft showed its intention to evolve its Web properties and services substantially in order to better start competing with its better-performing rivals. The jury is still out on Bing but it is, at least, a better alternative to Google than Microsoft has ever had before. So, onwards and upwards.

The next place for a revamp is the MSN homepage, which really hasn’t changed in look or feel since its inception in 1998. While the rest of the Web has changed a great deal in that decade, the MSN portal has stood the test of time. And is now starting to show its age as a result.

MSN.com is still important to Microsoft, although I don’t personally know anyone who uses it these days. Half of the company’s search traffic comes from the search bar at the top of the homepage, with a quarter of all use on the site being search-related. But then that may just tell us how lowly Microsoft ranks in the search sector.

According to CNET, Microsoft has now begun working on overhauling the MSN homepage to better suit its users in these social networking times. There’s also a push to move away from the Internet directory vibe and instead personalize the experiences based on every user’s individual demographics.

Clusters of content will now be added using software algorithms. Out will go the editors updating the site four times a day, and in their place will come constantly shifting content based on which articles and stories are proving the most popular.

Two new versions of the site are being trialled. The French one looks fairly traditional but with a sparse Web 2.0 look. The Brazilian one is more adventurous, including a social bar where media can be shared with contacts. Both are better than the current old-fashioned MSN homepage which immediately takes me back to my first foray onto the Web.

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