Dethroned Web portal puts its hopes in video

Daum Communications is trying to make a comeback. The No. 2 Internet portal has developed its own search engine, strengthened its user-created video service, and formed an alliance with Google for ads.
Daum announced yesterday that it completed developing its own search engine and that it started pilot services through a test site. The search engine currently only covers Web pages, but the company plans to expand its range to community “cafes” and blog services as well.
In a statement, Daum said it formed a special task force of engineers and developers early last year. The “Daum operating agent,” search engine will be able to return the most relevant Web pages in a keyword search and rank Web pages according to importance in real time.
Daum, which used to be Korea’s top Web portal, has been surpassed by NHN, operator of Naver. Daum used to be popular for its e-mail and community services before Naver overtook it with its stronger search engine and blog system.
The company has been trying to regain its position, especially in the search sector, because it has been losing market share for the past three years. According to Korean Click, a market research firm, Daum’s share out of total search queries in April was 15.7 percent, down from 19.2 percent the year before. Searches account for half of all revenue. In the first quarter, the company did achieve a 42 percent increase in search advertisement sales due to an alliance with Google, but the boost was a one-time event.
Since Naver is dominating the market in text search services, and Cyworld has a strong image database, Daum is making efforts to focus on its video portal service. Naver, Cyworld and Daum are the top three Internet portals. Daum is continuing to revamp its video portal service, dubbed TV Pot, creating more specific “channels” for users to upload self-made videos and forming alliances with broadcasting firms and production companies to acquire movies and other professional video content.
In videos, Daum has to compete with video-specific portals such as Pandora TV, the most popular, and services such as Mncast and Mgoon.
“Daum’s video services tend to change drastically, depending on who’s in charge of the team,” an official at a competitor said. “They will have to come up with something very original to improve their performance.”

By Wohn Dong-hee Staff Writer [wohn@joongang.co.kr]