Emerging Industry Overview: Web Portals and Online Communities
Industry Snapshot
Often considered synonymous with "search engines," Web portals are actually far broader, though most include search engines in their arsenals. Although Web portals fulfill several different functions, at their most basic, they act as a sort of gateway to the World Wide Web, providing a starting point through which users can choose the direction in which they wish to go with the aid of the portal's extensive categorization and search engines. In addition, they provide original content, such as news and business headlines, online communities, private e-mail services, and shopping...