Portal, vortal, sportal . . .
Summary Description There are 'ortals' everywhere you look. What are they, who is behind them, and what do they really do for the user?
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Roullas Top10 Simon Vandore

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No


Editorial InformationArticle Location http://www.newswire.com.au/0004/ortal.htm
Article Topic 5 Minute Guides
Story Order
Story Group 000416
Post Date 13/04/2000 03:29 PM Status Posted Entered by Simon Vandore on 12/04/2000 07:30 PM


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A portal to another dimension?
Just about. A portal is a Web site designed to serve as an entry point to the Internet. Sites like Excite, Yahoo, ninemsn or even telstra.com are considered portals.
They breed like rabbits, because 'portal' is a term which is loosely applied. Many home pages of limited use have adopted the term in the hope it will bring users and advertisers, but a true portal is likely to have a range of services like free email, powerful search engines, news media, chat rooms, financial services and alliances with other major Web sites. In true Harvard MBA fashion, the ecommerce experts have invented new words to describe a trend towards Internet entry points with a narrower focus.
Vortal, sportal . . . schmortal!
Yes, that's right, we said vortal. It means 'vertical industry portal'. In other words, a vortal is a site which offers a specialised entry point to a particular type of information. Examples include medical portals which have listings of doctors, dentists, pharmacists and self-help information. They also have services for medical practitioners, such as equipment sales and discussion boards where they can compare notes with their peers. Automobile portals provide motoring information, car sales listings, DIY repair info, and reviews of the latest vehicles. Specialist magazines often structure their Web sites as vortals, such as Good Medicine.
Vortals aim to be a starting point on the Web for someone who wants to find the solution to a specific problem, such as where to place an ad, where to find important information, or where to find people interested in the same topic -- in greater detail than a regular portal could provide. If someone suffers from a particular form of illness, they can use a medical vortal to find the information and contacts they require.
A sportal is a site devoted to a sport, or sport in general. One organisation has hijacked the term in the shape of the Sportal Network and its affiliates (Sportal Australia was established recently), but it has also been used to refer to sites like Soccer.com or Sports.com.
How do they make money?
To Internet investors, portals are old hat. Some say an effective portal is impossible in the long run, because it must spread itself too thin to remain appealing to all users. A good vortal might have a better chance, through concentrating on being the best at one particular thing.
Revenue opportunities for such sites (in addition to banner advertising) include charging for highlighted positions in service listings and access to premium content. Business to business opportunities are also evolving. Pharmaceutical companies want to get in touch with medical professionals, car parts manufacturers want contact with mechanics, and so on.
But vertical industry portals are also subject to a great deal of competition. Getting users interested is a tough task. There are a lot of sites that want to be your home page, and more startups entering the medical vortal market than can possibly survive. To start charging for premium services, a vortal needs an established client base and some really good content.
Will we see other 'ortals'?
Portals, vortals and sportals may be the work of mortals, but the IT world does have a habit of bending the English language and leaving its mark on the dictionary.
Maybe a heart disease information site could be an aortal? Facts for small people could be found at a shortal. A law information centre could be a tortal. A centre for Northern Territory criminal law could be a borstal. Did we say that? Chortle.


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Bulletin Summary5 Minute Guide: Portal, vortal, sportal . . .
There are 'ortals' everywhere you look. What are they, who is behind them, and what do they really do for the user?

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Cross-Publishing InformationShort Headline
5 Minute Guide: Portals

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