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Follow UsAre Bill Gates and Steve Case the Web’s Ali and Frazier?
They’re its heavyweight champs, with MSN and AOL atop the ratings. Like Ali,
Gates drives millions to distraction, while Case, like Frazier, doesn’t stir
us up. And with MSN getting better buzz, a showdown is at hand. But can the new
MSN really challenge AOL? If they got in a ring, the play-by-play might go like
this.
| Battle of the Titans |
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| Giant AOL is still tops, but MSN is closing the gap |
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| America Online | MSN |
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Entertainment: AOL’s listing of things to do is much Shopping: AOL has way more stores. Personal Finance: AOL’s breadth and ease of use are |
News: MSN makes better use of content from NBC and other partners than AOL makes of its Time Warner magazines. Cars: MSN Carpoint is more fun, less geared to motorheads. |
Round 1: Auto Channels. Case jabs with content from
Autoweb.com. Gates hits back with better-written reviews, virtually the same
car-price data, and a better layout. Round: Gates.
Round 2: Instant Messaging. MSN tries to take things
further by using its instant messaging service to carry phone calls over the
Web. But I had trouble with it. AOL’s instant messaging does less–it sticks
to simple text messages–but it’s reliable and has a huge audience. Round:
Case.
Round 3: City guides/ entertainment. These sections
tell you what’s up in your area. Gates set up Microsoft Sidewalk to do this
but it wasn’t a hit, and MSN now uses content from CitySearch.com. MSN has
fewer listings, and it has no punch to counter AOL’s MovieFone service, which
lets you buy tickets online. Round: Case.
Round 4: Travel. MSN’s Expedia.com is good, but AOL
Travel is better. Gates leads with a strong fare-search engine and a range of
package deals, including adventures from partner Away.com. But Case has similar
technology and adventure travel from GorpTravel.com. Then he decks Gates with
lively writing from Travel & Leisure magazine. Round: Case.
Round 5: Music. Neither AOL nor MSN has interesting
music-download services–yet. But each has tons of commercial-free Web radio.
MSN has 128 stations in 24 genres, with software that lets you choose a station
not only by type of music but also by what kind of mood you want to set, like
"Workout" and "Let’s Make Love". Slick. AOL’s Spinner
section has more stations but less imagination. Microsoft loses for refusing to
let MSN Music play over Netscape browsers or Real Audio streaming-audio
software. Round: Case.
Round 6: Shopping. Eshops.msn.com hits Case with 88
stores. Case swings back: AOL’s alphabetical list of stores hits 88 in the Cs.
Round: Case.
Round 7: Personal Finance. MSN recruited about 50
finance writers and devised stock-screening software to give MSN a good
personal-finance magazine. But AOL has its own stock screens and data, plus
magazines like Smart Money, Fortune, and BusinessWeek. MSN gives you dozens of
guys who once wrote for big publications. AOL gives you hundreds who still do.
Round: Case.
Round 8: News. MSNBC.com is livelier and better
looking than AOL News. Round: Gates.
Round 9: Look and Feel. Remember Web smartboys mocking
AOL’s simplicity? Where are they now? Listing houses they can’t afford on
AOL House and Home? AOL’s similar-looking channels help us find things fast.
Each MSN channel looks different: Some look great, others don’t. Round: Case.
Case wins–but Ali and Frazier fought three times, and Ali
won the last two. And industry sages say Microsoft perfects products in the 3.0
version. MSN is at 2.0–not yet AOL-worthy, but no joke. And Mr Softie will
keep punching. He always does.
By Timothy
J Mullaney in BusinessWeek. Copyright 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc