Aware that many users never change the default homepage on their browser, Netscape said today it is transforming its Netscape.com corporate Web site into a business-oriented "Netcenter" featuring news, software, and chat groups. The move is intended to give Netscape more leverage and diversity in facing down Microsoft's growing threat to its market share.
"Netscape is creating the highest-value, commerce-enabled community on the Net," said Mike Homer, the company's executive vice president of sales and marketing, in a statement. To retain and even build traffic to its site - which now gets about 4 million daily visits and brings in substantial revenues - Netcenter will combine software downloads, community areas, and aggregated content.
Netcenter will leverage Netscape's popular Web site to connect the 65 million Navigator users with the company's business partners, CEO Jim Barksdale said at a Wednesday morning news conference. Repackaging some of the services already offered on Netscape.com, Netcenter will make it easier for members to buy or update software from Sun, Corel, and other Netscape partners or get news from the likes of ABCNews.com, Money.com, and The New York Times.
Netscape is billing this new offering - slated to go live next week - as a free online service, requiring users to register as members. In this way, the company apparently hopes to emulate some of the community-building aspects of the Microsoft Network, while at the same time target the lucrative business market that is the focus of CompuServe's efforts.
To lure people in, Netscape is offering US residents who register for the service before 16 October a chance to win goodies like a new BMW roadster or a Hawaiian vacation.
In its content area, Netcenter will offer customizable materials from hundreds of partners. By the end of the year, the area will include a feature called Netscape Industry Watch, containing news and events of interest to business people. Netscape has not yet said whether such news will be compiled in-house, or whether it will rely on Yahoo for its aggregation. Yahoo, which offers its own customizable content service, already provides Netscape with a variety of listings.
The software area will feature the latest upgrades and add-ons for Netscape's products, plus a selection of titles from third-party providers. The chat area is being touted as an online forum for busy professionals to compare notes on new developments and technologies, complementing a Web-hosting service for corporate intranets.
Netscape sees its new online service as part of the "Netscape Everywhere" initiative announced last month, which aims to bring its browser to millions of new users. In fact, it's very much in keeping with a trend among major aggregators like Yahoo and Excite, which keep adding features to the mix in hopes of greatly boosting return visits (and hence advertising revenue). A new service, CNET's Snap Online, debuts this month as a one-size-fits-all content provider for Internet service providers lacking their own resources.
Homer said Netcenter will offer up to $1,000 in transaction insurance, protecting against credit card fraud and other mishaps for a small fee. The new site will also disclose its privacy policy, giving consumers a choice as to what information is disclosed to third parties. "If you allow us to give your name to other people we will, and if you don't we won't," Homer said.
Wall Street seems to think Netscape is on the right track. The company's stock was up in early trading today.
