• by John Hallenborg , June 18, 2002

For ethnic affinity portals, the struggle continues online. According to a 1999 Forrester Research study, African-Americans will nearly double their presence on the Internet in 2000, which would translate to 40 percent of that ethnic population. Despite the daunting presence of major web portals Yahoo, AOL and MSN, proactive entrepreneurs have tried to appeal to blacks by providing access through sites that are targeted specifically to people of color. These affinity portals promote ethnic identity and cultural factors to generate loyalty from blacks. To date, most of these sites, in combination with advertising, have generated enough site traffic to make a go of it.

Derrick Godfrey, director of interactive media for Earl Graves, Ltd., parent company of BlackEnterprise.com, has been monitoring these developments. “Just as black Americans are taking to electronic devices such as cell phones, you’ll see the rate accelerate likewise for the Internet,” he predicts. “Make or break elements in this market include useful tool sets,” such as stock quote information, Godfrey adds. “It depends also on the objectives of the parent company. If you’re talking about a standalone, revenue generating model, that’s a much tougher road to hoe,” Godfrey says. “Maybe a handful of such sites will make it. But in our case, we have a magazine that can contribute resources and content to the web effort.”

In reviewing these niche efforts generally, it becomes clear that every site has a somewhat distinctive perspective that portends a sense of community, should enough sites survive attrition and consolidation trends that are ever-present on the web. In fact, one casualty already is BlackFamilies.com, which shut down on August 1. The earliest players, such as NetNoir, had the foresight to throw a wide net over the target demo, rather than limiting coverage to ethnic aspects of the entertainment industry.

Mel Fallif, marketing vice president at BlackVoices.com, is confident that at least two or three sites will survive. “The critical mass on the web is greater than most people think. Our own surveys, through CyberDialog and other researchers, show that nearly 15 million African-Americans use the web regularly,” he reports. “As with most targeted media, the market is interested in sites like Yahoo, but also in content that speaks personally to them.”

Each of the sites on the following page has differentiated itself from its competition, but most of them stress a youth orientation. Insofar as some sites are heavily capitalized by large media conglomerates, normal market shakeouts may not apply for some years, as firms like The Tribune Company are more willing to absorb losses in the short term. (The launch of Time Warner’s urban-oriented volume.com, was postponed.)

Advertisers should be able to gain a favorable pricing edge over traditional media spots, as even the most developed of these sites have yet to fully tap into the potential target audience.

Freelance writer John Hallenborg can be reached at jchborg@aol.com. THE MAJORS www.netnoir.com Launched five years ago with AOL’s help, this site has become a premier venue. Along with BlackPlanet.com and BlackEnterprise.com, it is one of three that can boast of more than 100,000 site visits each month. The home page features channel links to News, Music, Film & TV, Women, Gospel Chapel, Health and Fitness, and Lifestyle. There are unfiltered headline feeds from the Associated Press, but site editors are careful to lend a black slant to almost everything else (shopping becomes Blackshopping). Free membership via a typical registration process gains the user access to e-mail, shopping tools, chat rooms, and a communities section. Advertisers including firms such as Bank of America, AT&T, Ford Motor Company and Hewlett-Packard, are offered two packages: sponsorship or long-term residency in targeted high traffic areas and banner programs featuring “broad reach capabilities, exceptional ability to target, simplified media planning.” NetNoir also courts smaller players with its Small Business Program.

www.blackplanet.com The Wall Street Journal recently reported that BlackPlanet.com is the “stickiest” site in its category, averaging more than 34 minutes per user session. Given that the home page is a plain log-in site, the WSJ’s observation would indicate that BlackPlanet benefits from dedicated users rather than casual browsers. Members access channels titled Music & Entertainment, News & Politics, and Books.

www.blackenterprise.com With about 100,000 hits per month, this is a sister to the offline magazine of the same name, which has 400,000 subscribers. With its business orientation, the site reaches better demographics with a smart mix of online tools, news with a black slant, stock quotes/purchase capabilities, and a search engine.

ONES TO WATCH www.globalmecca.com Self-described as “The Empowerment Network for African-Americans,” GlobalMecca.com is skewed toward personal finance. In addition to money and career matters, which are covered by daily articles, lifestyle issues are linked to Book Club, History & Culture, Technology, Campaign 2000, Health & Fitness, Travel and Shopping. On the light side, horoscopes and gift ideas will secure the attention of some.

www.africana.com Africana.com has a very strong cultural slant, as news of the arts dominates the site. Black-oriented news is updated daily. The site’s channels are: Worldview, which features articles on larger problems affecting blacks; Lifestyle, which features celebrity profiles and health coverage; Fast Track, which covers events with a proactively black slant; Heritage, with a historical bent; Art Scene, with fine arts and multi-media coverage; and Homefront, which touches upon practical matters of daily living, such as tooth care. A reviews section profiles the latest in music, books and movies.

www.bet.com With $35 million in support capital from Microsoft, Liberty Media, News Corp. and USA Networks, this site is a sister to Black Entertainment Television, and reaches about 1 percent of the U.S. black adult population each month, according to web research firm NetRatings. BET is one of the highest profile sites targeting younger African-Americans. Given the site’s name, it is somewhat surprising that rather than entertainment, the focus is on black-infused elements of news, personal finance, health, careers, personal relationships, food and other aspects of daily living.

ALSO www.blackworldnet.com Claiming a monthly viewership of some 350,000, Black World Net, “the Internet’s first black network,” has over 100 affiliate websites. Backed by the Black World Today brand, it has a partnership with the VentureDirect agency.

www.blackworld.com An information clearinghouse in a Yahoo-like format. Although the home page is densely populated with links, it’s not as confusing as it first appears.