10 cool things AOL could do with Netscape.com

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More than just a browser developer, Netscape was once synonymous with the web. Go to netscape.com now, though, and you’re quietly redirected to AOL’s front page.

There’s not a single crumb of the old brand left, just a double portion of bland portal pie.

What a terrible waste. Netscape – more than any brand or browser – was the little company that could. It took on Microsoft head to toe and looked like it could win.

But while Netscape kick-started the web it’s now almost forgotten; a holding company for a relegated revolution – the web’s strongest brand, locked in a drawer with some odd socks and mothballs. It’s a ludicrous situation, and it makes us sad.

As the world’s biggest ISP, there are so many ways AOL could be capitalising on the Netscape name. We’re so keen for Netscape to live again that we’ve come up with 10 ideas that the internet giant can have for free; ideas that build on the goodwill and global recognition that Netscape still enjoys.

ОФИС-МЕНЕДЖЕР. Start a web hosting service for entry level users
Once upon a time, Geocities was the go-to site for those in need of a personal web presence. That niche is now occupied by MySpace and Facebook, tools for connecting friends together. The time is ripe for a new home page service that mixes social networking with flexible tools that lets users create their own layouts and pages. Netscape would be the perfect brand and AOL, with its natural demographic of novice users, the perfect host.

2. Offer a stripped down ISP for professional users
Netscape has already been an ISP – but this time around the product will benefit from AOL’s robust international network experience. In an online market where there are increasingly few beginners, the AOL brand doesn’t fit well with the frill-free, streamlined service that would appeal to the most lucrative demographic out there: business users. The Netscape name would be ideal.

3. Create a ground-breaking virtual world
Second Life gets lots of press, but it’s starting to look a bit early 21st century – with games like World of Warcraft showcasing superior graphics and interaction. As a proof of concept, though, Second Life is ideal – boasting around 3,500,000 regular users. AOL already has a history as a pioneer in multiplayer games with the seminal Neverwinter Nights, the first MMORPG. A second take on Second Life is well within AOL’s capabilities. Now all it has to do is build it.

4. Offer a statistics hub with free and premium access
The data passing through AOL – from search statistics to internet traffic reports – is worth its weight in bits and bytes. AOL could take on NationMaster as a global statistics vendor, chock full of the net usage data AOL must have its mitts on and pulling in other numbers from third-party sources. It fits the Netscape name like a glove – though the EFF might have an objection or two.

5. Create a literal interpretation of the word Netscape
Similar to web graphing tools like Google Browser and Digg’s slew of visualisation tools – this would graphically represent internet traffic passing through AOL in real time. Pulsing, animated patterns would show requests on search engines, music downloads and social networking flocks. The colour coded activity would only be decipherable by mathematical savants. Not much money in this idea – but, lots of pretty colours and a very graphic illustration of AOL’s market power.

admin @ November 14, 2008