While the Asian megaportal slugfest continues among Internet sites that measure success by millions of page views per day, a new wave of Web businesses is hitting the scene, hoping to deliver the goods for their viewers and advertisers by aiming at smaller, niche markets.
The Sohus, Sina.coms and China.
coms, in their effort to appeal to the broadest possible audience, have been running around Greater China buying up as much news, entertainment and on-line shopping content as they can. That portal game, however, is only for the well-financed and well-connected, and is an area where there can only be a handful of winners, observers say.
So what is the aspiring but less-cash-rich Web-site operator to do? The answer for some firms has been to go 'vertical', building in-depth content focused on specific areas, from music to investing to advice on sex and love.
In cases where the sites are up and running, those behind them claim closer relationships with their viewers, who spend a longer time at their sites. And that loyalty, in some cases, lets the Web site charge higher rates to advertisers.
Already in the game are netbig.com and dotlove.com, both aiming at the under-30 crowd, but with very different approaches.