Google as Portal, With a Twist

From The New York Times - We should be past the debate of a few years ago about whether Google wants to be a “portal”—in the sense that Yahoo and AOL offer sections after sections about various topics. After all, for many sites Google is an even bigger front door than their own home pages.

Still, when Google’s blog announced the company had created a page about the Australian elections, it seemed like an odd move for a site that mostly waits for its users to say what they are interested in. But Google’s Australian election page offers an interesting new take on what a portal can be.

It’s not a collection of content, but rather a collection of tools that display content. One item is a customization of Google maps that lets viewers explore candidates, district boundaries and so on. Another is a series of official collections of commercials and other videos posted by the major campaigns. | Read full article