Farm Progress has re-designed their websites. They’re calling it a new “internet portal.”

Farm Progress has redesigned its state and regional magazines’ Web sites to provide readers with a more feature-packed and flexible Internet portal. The introduction is more than a redesign and its functionality is not found elsewhere in agricultural media Web sites. The sites have a totally different look, feel and experience.

The internet portal thing makes me have to make a comment. Does that term still make sense in today’s new media world? I think it suggests an all-inclusive environment where the visitor never leaves because the site contains all they need. After a quick look, it does indeed contain a lot of information but . . . I think today’s web savvy farmers and ranchers surf all over the place and go to places that are their favorites for various kinds of information. Let’s take weather for example. How about Weather.com or AccuWeather.com? How about sports (ESPN, Sports Illustrated)? How about market prices (CME Group, MGEX)? What do you think about the portal concept?