MSN Introduces Dramatically Improved Redesign, Portal Drives Nearly 50% Of Bing Queries by Greg Sterling, Search Engine Land (Nov 4)
MSN has revamped its portal - proving that portals aren't dead. Preview it here.
"Microsoft has introduced a dramatic new look and feel for the MSN portal. The redesign simplifies and cleans up most elements on the site. Among other things, it makes video more central, incorporates Facebook and Twitter, creates a dedicated new local area and emphasizes search."
Windows Live network is on the home page too.
Also - Microsoft Gives MSN an Overdue Face-lift By Peter Burrows , Business Week (Nov 4)
"Heartened by the reception for new search engine Bing, Microsoft has simplified MSN's home page to play up search with the detail of a local paper"
Points out that the history of the MSN portal has been dismal - something put on a computer at purchase and not changed. This new version has been created partly to push search traffic to Bing.
"Now, for the first time in a decade, Microsoft is giving MSN a face-lift. On Nov. 4 some of the millions of users of the MSN home page will see a less cluttered site that for the first time lets users access Twitter and Facebook feeds without having to leave the page. A section called MSN Local Edition provides news of local doings such as concerts, restaurant reviews, and weather and traffic reports which vary based on the user's location."
This new version is only for the US portal - msn.com. Canadians were introduced to a revised portal after the Microsoft split from Bell Sympatico. It is more crowded than the US but is an improvement over the old. There is a video tour.
Posted by Gwen at November 5, 2009 12:36 PM